GIFT  OF 
A.   ?•    Morrison 


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<o^ 


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LORDS   AND   LADIES   OF  THE 
ITALIAN  LAKES 


Anna    Sforza    (as    Saint    Giustina) 
AND    Alfonso    D'Este 


ALESSANDO    MORETTO 
IMPERIAL    MUSEUM,    VIENNA 


[See  page  242 


LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF 
THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 


BY 

EDGGUMBE    STALEY 

•I 
AUTHOR   OF 
KING  RENE  D  ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS,"  "GUILDS  OF  FLORENCE,"  "FAIR 
i WOMEN  OF  FLORENCE,"  "TRAGEDIES  OF  THE  MEDICI,"  "  DOGARESSAS 
OF  VENICE,"   "HEROINES  OF  GENOA  AND  THE  RIVIERAS,"  ETC. 


WITH  COLOURED  FRONTISPIECE  AND  FORTY-FIVE 
OTHER  ILLUSTRATIONS 


'*  On  dansant  tout  le  jour  au  soleil !" 


BOSTON 
LITTLE.    BROWN   AND    COMPANY 

1912 


X)Cr 
U. 


^'/^ 


All  rights  reserved. 


CONTENTS 

FAOBS 

List  of  Illustrations      -           -           -           -  x 

Preface     -           -           -            -            -            -  xi,  xii 

Introduction         -----  xiii — xxi 

Chapter  I.  '*  Verbano  "  -           -           -           -  23—76 

Minerva  and  Maggiore. — Dante's  love  of  Maggiore. — Early  deni- 
zens of  Lakeland. — Dominating  families. — '*  Pallanzala  Graciosa." 
— Quaint  powers. — "Roll of  Fame." — Pushful  Pallanzaese. — Story 
of  Battista  Bortolotto — "  I  do  not  despair  !" — A  quixotic  settle- 
ment "  To  cure  the  devil  in  him  !" — Marriage  customs. — Nick- 
names.— Laws  of  dress. — Sunday  services. — "  Half-and-Half  "! — 
Games  and  the  Siesta. — Water  picnics. — Pallone. — The  theatre. 
— Social  gatherings. — Playful  tricks. — Carnival  scrimmages. — 
Dances  and  kisses. — Romances  of  Arena  and  Angera. — Maria 
Bianoa  Scapardona  and  the  gay  de  Challant. — Agnese  del  Majne 
the  charmer. — The  chamber  of  Four  Lakes. — San  Carlo  Borromeo. 
— Sensuous  hours. — A  weeping  picture — a  miracle  ! — Alberto 
Besozzo,  robber  and  monk. — "  The  Scourge  of  Angera  !" — 
Romantic  Lake  Orta. — ^The  Amazon  Queen  GiuUia. — Island 
Sirens. — Queen-mother  Margherita, — "  Eliza  beUa  " — A  Garden 
of  delights. — Buonaparte's  hattaglia.'^ — Sweet  barcarole. — The 
Villa  Clara. — "  Come  in  and  have  some  tea  I" — Queen  Victoria's 
cedars. — "  Here  I  could  wish  to  spend  my  days  I" — Smoky  Intra. 
— Pirates — ^the  Mazzarditi ! — "  No -pay  castles  !" — "  The  Crown 
of  Locarno." — Vision  of  Brother  Bartolommeo  d'  Ivrea. — A  pil- 
grimage church. — The  Cidt  of  Religion  v.  the  Cult  of  Fashion ! — 
Merry  laughter. 

Chapter  II.  "  Ceresio  "  -  -  -  -      77—109 

The  "  Home  of  Ceres." — Lugano's  twin  giants. — Social  condi- 
tion of  Ticino. — The  throe  castles  of  Bellinzona. — Johann  von 
Wippingen. — "  Liberi  e  Svizzeri  " — Giuseppe  Mazzini. — Tradi- 
tions and  Folklore. — Children's  games. — "  Angels  and  Devils." — 
Kisses  round  and  satires. — Church  bells. — The  week  for  Ivovers !" 
— A  lizard  with  two  tails  ! — Never  beat  a  boy  before  a  girl  t — 
The  Mule  of  Isonc — "  Be  of  good  courage  !" — May-Day  ditties. — 
A  bit  of  Paradise  ! — A  mirror-like  lake. — "  Bella  kissed  me  out  of 
Muzzan  I" — Noble  mountains; — Grottoes. — ^The  tragedy  of  Giuli^ 

V 


M94351 


vi  CONTENTS 

PAGES 

da  Lanzo  d'  Intelvi. — Notable  artists. — A  superb  panorama. — 
The  Campionesi-hmldeTa. — A  dereliction  of  the  doganiere ! — 
Ggars. — II  Deserto — bare  feet  and  bare  heads. — Countess  Eliza- 
betta  Morosoni-Dandolo. — A  land  of  olives  and  fair  women. 

"  Le  Belle  del  Varesotto  !" — ^The  milky  way — Vergilice. — Beauty 
spots. — Villa  Cicogna-Mozzoni. — The  music  of  the  hounds  ! — 
The  trout  of  Bisuschio. — "  I  wish  to  hear  running  water  every- 
where !" — The  thriving  town  of  Varese. — The  coming  of  Duke 
Francesco  Maria  d'  Este. — "  La  CorteJ" — Stables — a  Palace  ! — 
Fair  Beatrice  d'  Este  and  brilliant  Teresa  Trivulzio-Saluzai. — An 
imposing  suite. — Love  and  sport. — Diamonds. — Amarose  dame  e 
donzelle  ! — Cards  and  gossip. — Mass  and  sermons. — The  theatre  at 
Varese. — Saronno  and  its  gingerbread. — Pedretto  the  peasant 
and  the  Virgin's  shrine. — His  gout  vanished. — Mauled  by  a  bear  !! 
— Marchese  Ponti  and  his  "  comer  in  cotton  "  ! — King  Victor 
Emmanuel  II. 

Chapter  III.  "Lario"    -  -  -  -    110—182 

"  Venus     of     the     Lakes  !"— Como— "  the     place."— Pliny's 
ecstatic  letter  to  Rufus. — Industrious  people. — Rarest  pot-pourri. 
— The  city  of  Como. — St.  Ambrose  and  the  truffles  ! — Battles  on 
the  lake. — Iron  cages. — "  A  woman  threw  herself  from  a  win- 
dow !" — Garibaldi — the    "  Liberator  "    and    the    village    virago 
Bianca. — ^The  Villa  d'  Este. — The  Marchesa  Vittoria  Calderara. — 
The    Princess   of   Wales. — Queen    Caroline. — Her   travels. — La 
huona  Principessa  I — Gardens  in  the  air  ! — The  royal  suite. — 
Slanders. — Cavaliere  Bartolommeo  Pergami's  devotion. — Madame 
de  Mont's  witness. — ^A  straw  sun-bonnet. — A  plot. — Duplicity  of 
the  Prince. — William  Burrell — a  liaison  ? — Despicable  Castlereagh. 
— Lord  Charles  Stuart's  "  mission." — Base  Baron  d'  Ompteda. — 
Moritz  Crede — a  groom. — An  attempted  assassination. — The  Queen 
rejected  at  the  Abbey. — ^The  Villa  Pliniana. — Pliny's  letters. — 
Catching  fish  in  bed  ! — Pliny's  villas — "  Comedy  "  and  "  Tra- 
gedy."— The  monster  slain  ! — Princess  Cristina  Trivulzio-Belgio- 
sioso — "  Gtizen  Cristina." — The  sacred  cause  of  Italian  unity. — 
Percy  Bysshe  Shelley  and  admiration  of  Como. — Warlike  times. — 
The    heroine    Alicia    da    Tomo. — Precious    relics. — The    Isda 
Comacina — its  romance  and  its  industry. — Long-haired  Autaris 
and  bewitching  Theodelinda. — She  kissed  his  sandal ! — A  nail  of 
Christ's  Cross  her  diadem. — ^The  fairv  Queen  of  Lario. — A  weird 
wraith  ! — "  Good-night,  St.  Francis  !  — They  were  all  Counts. — 
The  family  of  Zobio  or  Giovio — historians  and  benefactors. — 
*'  Poor  pay,    poor  preach  " — and  the   reverse  ! — Madonna  del 
Soccorso. — Little  Nania's  vision. — Vagaries  of  the  Sacred  Image. 
— Now    "  nothing  but  a  blessing  !" — An  amazing  contrast. — A 
modem  Elysium. — Villa  Scorpione. — "  Zitto  r — A  Dainty  shoe- 
less foot ! — A  lover's  guitar. — Eros  and  Psyche. — Amours  now 
called  "  pleasures  "  ! — Villa  Carlotta,  the  boudoir  of  the  "  Loves." 
— Longfellow's  epic. — ^The  call  of  Bellagio. — Griante  and  her 
story. — The  feast  of  baskets. — Edward  Royds  and  the  sirens  of 
the  lake. — Two  tragedies. — A  Murderer  ! — The  Buonapartes  at 
Villa  Melzi. — Leonardo  da  Vinci  and  Francesco  Melzi  d'Erile. — 
Promontory  of  Bi-lacus. — ^The  dreaded  Cavargnoni. — Countess 
Adeliza  di  Borgomanero — a  female  vampire  ! — The  pathetic  story 
of  Giulio  Mylius  and  Anastasie  Kreutzner. — From  the  kiss  of  love 
to  the  kiss  of  God  ! — Boisterous  Leone  Leoni. — Pin-pricks ! — 


CONTENTS  vii 


Busy  Bellano. — Tommaso  Grossi  and  his  "  Ildegonda.'" — Rizzardo 
and  Ildegonda  meet  in  Paradise. — Many  castles. — II  Medeghino. — 
— the  Trimmer — a  Mediceo. — "  No  pardon  for  Gravedona  !" — 
The  "  Holy  Office  "  and  St.  Peter  Martyr. — Women  and  Bene- 
dictine scapulas. — The  Castle  of  Fuentes — a  terror  spot. — The 
fascination  of  Lake  Como. 

Chapter  IV.  Legco — Brianza — Milan  -  -    183 — 249 

Diana  of  the  Gods. — '*  The  Verdant  Land." — Water  nymphs. — 
The  Lake  of  Lecco. — The  Ponte  Orande. — Alessandro  Manzone. — 
Madonna  Giulia  and  her  lover. — "  /  Promessi  SposV^ — Banditti. 
— Ambrogio  Arrigone  done  to  death. — Pelf  and  curio-hunters. — 
A  blinded  Prince. — Three  awesome  creatures. — Pilgrims  of  San 
Pietro. — "  Better  leave  well  alone  !" — Henry  III.  and  lovely 
Agnese  d'  Annona. — A  chain  of  lakelets. — Nature's  charms. — 
Happy  days  of  Federigo  Barbarossa. — A  beautiful  dower  house. — 
Frail  Elizabetta  Borromeo. — An  Imperial  marriage. — A  water 
pageant. — Cecilia  Gallerma  and  Lodovico  "  D  Moro.  — The  lovely 
Val  Assina. — A  famous  pilgrimage  church. — Witches  and  witch- 
craft.— Blood-thirstiness. — Zenith  of  human  happiness. — Giuseppe 
Parini  and  the  "  Oiomo." — Everyone  roared. — Cristina's  "  Mona 
Lisa  smile." — Petrarca  at  Castello  di  San  Colombano. — Family 
saints. — Rich  red  wines. — The  spondid  Alari. — Empress  Maria 
Teresa. — The  Castle  of  Milan. — The  Duke  of  Clarence  marries 
Yolanda  Visconti. — A  portentous  dowry. — Geoffrey  Chaucer  and 
the  "  Story  of  Griseldis." — Laura  or  Berta. — Visconti  feuds. — 
Francesco  Sforza. — The  heiress  of  the  Visconti. — King  Ren6 
d'  Anjou's  amazement. — Proud  Bona  of  Savoy. — A  bridal  tragedy. 
— Lucrezia  Landriani. — The  famous  Caterina  Sforza-Riario- 
Medici. — A  liaison  with  Giacomo  Feo. — Sporting  scenes. — 
Macchiavelli  and  luxurious  citizens. — Stabbed  at  Christmas. — 
"  Cicco  "  Simonetta.  The  Duchess  elopes. — Laban-like  Duke  of 
Ferrara. — Isabella  or  Beatrice  ? — A  Spanish  Princess. — Castle 
rivalries. — "  I  would  rather  die  by  my  own  hand  !" — Hi-bred 
Milanese  ladies. — "  Union  of  the  Fittest." — Hunting-box  at 
Cussago. — Galeazzo  Sanseverino's  gossipy  letters. — Ladies  at 
play. — Duchess  Beatrice  and  Dioda. — The  Duchess  and  Donna 
Cecilia. — Tricks  and  pranks. — Market-women  laugh. — The  theatre 
in  Mian. — *'  Voce  d'  un  Angdo.'' — The  widowed  Duchess's  matri- 
monial schemes. — Charles  VIII. 's  visit  and  its  consequences. — 
He  kissed  her  cheek  ! — Fascinating  pastimes. — Sumptuous  gowns 
and  jewels. — They  rode  astride  ! — A  tactful  minuet. — "  Won  all 
hearts  !" — Was  Beatrice  fickle  ? — Bayart  "  sana  peur  et  sans 
reproche." — Anna  Sforza's  charms. — ^The  bride  of  Ferrara. — 
Alessandro  Moretto's  "  St.  Giustina  "  our  frontispiece. — "  The 
Sforza  Saffo  /" — Garden-parties.  —  Leonardo  da  Vinci  at  the 
Milanese  Court. — Cosy  games  at  cards. — Uncanny  omens. — Lodo- 
vico's  grief  and  exile. — Castle  and  city  pillaged. — The  "dirty 
French  "  ! — Lucrezia  Crevelli's  romance. — The  Sforzas  restored. 
— Duchess  Cristina  and  Holbein. — Austrians  and  French.  One 
hundred  years'  desolation. — Eerie  voices  of  the  past. 

Chapter  V.  "  Sebino  "—Bergamo  and  Brescia     250—305 

Psyche  of  the  Lakes. — Iseo  and  Georges  Sand. — "  Awake,  my 
love,  awake  !" — Painted  houses. — An  island  shrine. — Loreto — a 
lottery  prize  l—Vdlo  /  Velio  /—The  painter  Romanino. — "  Short 


viii  CONTENTS 

PAGES 

skirts  :  short  pay !  * — Artist-artisans. — ^Teresa  Tadini's  tragic 
death. — Lady  Mary  Wortley  Montagu  and  her  letters. — Loverese 
society. — Nightgowns  and  stays. — Happy  peasants. — Painted 
churches. — "The  Dance  of  Death." — Children  and  snails. — St. 
George  and  bridals. — Marriage  customs. — Burials. — Oiorgione — 
cheeses. — Simples. — Straw  and  ashes. — ^Workers  in  metals. — 
Psyche's  waterfall. — Bartolommeo  GoUeone. — Castle  of  Malpaga. 
— Trezzo  and  Esselino  "the  Terrible." — ^Bemabo  Visconti's 
prison. — A  dark  deed. — Madonna  Riccardina  gagged. — A  helpless 
babe. — Filippo  Arcelli's  school — Bartolommeo  runs  away. — Mili- 
tary service. — The  notorious  Queen  Giovanna  II. — Venice  rewards 
the  valiant  hero. — Madonna  Thisb6  and  her  daughters. — A  great 
"  Lord  of  the  Lakes." — Fond  of  women. — A  royal  visitor. — King 
Christian. — A  gigantic  Dacian. — Zorzio  da  Spinone. — ^A  champion 
charcoal-burner. — Berta  da  Trescore  follows  her  lover. — A  splen- 
did flotilla. — "  Triumph  of  the  Black  Buffaloes." — Famous  fres- 
coes at  Malpaga. — Marina  of  the  Basella. — A  pretty  legend. — Val 
Brembana — the  cradle  of  artists. — Palma  Vecchio — ^his  model  for 
St.  Barbara. — ^Titian  loved  and  painted  Yolanda. — Loves  of 
Giovanni  de'  Busi  and  Bettina  Cariani. — Giovannino.  The  saint 
with  the  golden  hair. — The  oldest  Via  Cruets. — ^The  Paschal  Lamb. 
— The  home  of  the  Tassi. — The  Bergamesque  "  burr." — "  Oeru- 
scUemme  Ltberata.^^ — Torquato's  triumph. — Shepherds  of  the 
Val  Bregaglia. — Harlequin  and  Columbine. — Children's  dance- 
songs. — Gouty  patients. — Agreeable  San  Pellegrino. — The  Ver- 
tove — Lords  of  the  Mezzate. — A  gruesome  relic. — Mystic  circles. 
— ^A  Greek  legend. — Folklore  and  roundelays. — "  The  rattles  of 
Hell !" — ^A  hero-monk. — Martinenghi — Counts  and  Countesses. — 
A  romantic  story  of  Le  Chevalier  Bayart. — Grim  Val  Sabbia. — 
Latin  and  Teuton  face-to-face. — A  mountain  tarn  and  a  gloomy 
castle. — ^Whitened  bones  of  fugitives. — Dante's  "  Inferno." — A 
wonderful  transformation. 

Chapter  VI.  "  Benaco  "  -  -  -  -    306—370 

Regal  Garda. — The  lacustrine  Juno. — Lake  fish  and  fisheries. — 
Encomium  of  Frederic  III. — Tennyson's  "  Olive-Silvery  Sirmio." 
— Queen  Ansa's  foundations. — ^The  castle  of  the  Scaligeri. — The 
"  Patareni  "  and  their  sufferings. — The  hobby  of  Count  Antonio 
d'  Hassi. — A  countess  built  into  a  wall. — Salo  and  its  oleanders. — 
The  magnificent  Martinenghi. — Count  Sciarra's  vengeance. — 
"  The  Albergo  del  Castello  /" — True  gallantry. — The  "  Societa  di 
Dubbiosi  " — poor  nobles. — Li  via  d'  Arco's  devotion. — Vittoria 
Colonna  and  Count  Fortunato. — A  white  widow's  veil. — Shake- 
speare's epitaph. — Beata  Maria  Magdalena. — The  story  of  Vit- 
toria Accoramboni. — A  scheming  Cardinal. — The  strangling  of  Isa- 
bella de'  Medici. — Francesco  Peretti  stabbed  to  the  heart. — 
In  the  Duke's  power. — A  sudden  flight. — The  Barbarano  palace. — 
Vittoria's  Court. — Virginio  de'  Medioi-Bracoiano,  the  rightful  heir. 
A  vendetta. — The  peace  of  Padua. — Lodovico  Orsini's  treachery. — 
Conte  Paganello's  hravi. — "  Let  me  die  decently  clothed  !"  Isa- 
bella d'  Este-Gonzaga,  a  great  Lady  of  the  Lake. — Her  letters  in 
praise  of  Garda. — Duchess  Elizabetta  Gonzaga-d'Urbino  and  the 
Marchioness. — Delightful  excursions. — Card-parties. — Women's 
fashions. — The  archpriest's  garden  and  flowery  speech. — The 
dwarf  Morgantino  on  Isabella's  Imee  ! — Scrambling. — Livia's 
fall. — "  We  must  build  a  Casino  here." — The  gallant  Spanish 


CONTENTS  ix 

PAOES 

Oapitano. — A  splendid  welcome. — Gfiangiorgio  Trissino,  the  poet. 
— La  Margherita  la  Infelicissima  / — ^The  JRitratti  delle  Donne 
d'  Italia." — "  I  know  all  her  charms  !" — Junkettings  on  the  lake. 
— A  good-looking  page. — High  stakes. — A  careful  chamberlain. — 
Two  high-spirited  girls. — Alfresco  pleasures. — Marchioness  prima 
cantatrice. — The  true  kiss  of  love. — Kissing  under  difficulties. — 
Emilia  Pia  and  her  cult  of  beauty.—"  Rub  !  rub !  rub  !"— The 
nuns  of  the  Isda. — "  Ess."  or  " Este  ?"  Bouquet. — " La  Grotta'* 
and  "  II  Studido  "  at  Mantua. — Pictures  in  the  "  Paradiso." — 
"The  Court  of  Isabella."— Her  motto.— The  widowed  Mar- 
chioness.— Count  Cammillo,  "  the  restorer,"  and  Cosimo  III.  of 
Florence. — ^A  weird  legend. — "  La  Videnta  Signoretta  "  and  the 
Black  Art. — Holy  Hermit. — St.  Ercolano. — A  drifting  corpse. — 
Reprobate  Duke  Carlo's  orgies. — Lady  Mary  Montagu's  bath — 
"  her  dirt  "  !— The  French  and  Austrians  fight  to  a  finish.— The 
charms  and  industries  of  the  "  Biviera  di  Qarda.'" — Riva,  like  a 
fan. — Frate  Dolcino  and  Margherita  da  Val  di  Ledro. — The  stake 
and  the  dungeon. — "  Palla." — Goethe's  delight  in  Garda,  and  his 
adventures  at  Malcesine. — The  Rocca  di  Oarda  and  Adelheid  of 
of  Burgundy. — A  cavalier  monk. — A  romantic  escape. — The  Bride 
of  Otto  "  the  Great." — Her  daughter's  romance. — Charlemagne  on 
Lake  Garda. — Sweet-faced  St.  Bernardo  di  Siena. — A  sanctuary 
of  distinguished  men  and  women. — "  Lords  and  Ladies  "  come 
and  go. 

Bibliography        -  -  -  .  .  371 

Index         -.-...    372—382 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


Anna  Sfoeza  and  Antonio  D'  Estb 

"  Bruzio  Visconti  "    - 

Picnic  in  a  Forest    - 

Bath  in  a  Villa-Gauden 

Game  of  Scaetino 

Hall  op  Tapestries — Isola  Bella 

Mystic  Dance 

Loggia  at  Villa  Clara 

King  Christian  at  Malpaga 

Ladies  of  the  Martinenghi 

Mirror  of  Muzzano  - 

Villa  Cicogna-Mozzoni 

Francesco  Maria  D'  Este    - 

Queen  Caroline  at  Villa  D'  Este 

English  Park  at  Cernobbio 

Benedetto  and  Paolo  Giovio 

Hunting  at  Malpaga 

A  Typical  Villa-Garden 

Bartolommeo  Oolleone  making  Gifts 

Martyrdom  of  St.  Peter  of  Verona 

Lasnigo  Pilqrimaqe  Church 

PoNTB  Grande  (or  Visconti),  Lecco 

Galeazzo  Maria  Sforza 

Chase  in  the  Brianza 

Francesco  Sforza  and  Bianca  Visconti    - 

Caterina  Sforza-Riario-Medici 

Bona  da  Savoia,  Duchess  of  Milan 

LoDovico  "  II  Mobo  " 

Beatrice  D'  Este,  Duchess  of  Milan 

LUCREZIA   CrEVELLI       .... 

Cristina  di  Danbmarca,  Duchess  of  Milan 
Castle-Lottbry  Prize — Lake  of  Isbo 
Lady  Mary  Wortley  Montagu 
Tournament  at  Malpaga 
Banquet  at  Castle  of  Malpaga 

YOLANDA  DA   SeRINA    - 

Cristoforo  Vertova  - 
Cassandra  Martinbngo 
Castle  of  the  Scaliqers 

VlTTORIA  CoLONNA 

SCIARRA  CeSARESCO'MaRTINENGO 

Isabella  D'  Este,  Marchioness  of  Mantua 
Elizabbtta  Gonzaga,  Duchess  of  Urbino 
"  Court  of  Isabella  D'  Este-Gonzaga  "    - 


FACING  PAO 

Frontispiece 


PREFACE 

"  Lords  and  Ladies  of  the  Italian  Lakes  !" — an 
author  could  not  wish  for  a  more  delightful  sub- 
ject nor  a  more  attractive  title  for  his  book.  Few 
portions  of  this  glorious  old  globe's  surface  are  as 
lovely  as  the  Lakeland  of  Lombardy.  Nature 
and  Art  have  gone  reveUing  together  there. 

Charming  as  is  my  subject  from  every  point  of 
view,  it  has,  alas  !  narrow  and  jealous  limitations. 
Lombardy  is  full  from  end  to  end  of  ancient  castles 
and  modem  villas,  each  at  one  time  or  another 
the  happy  home  or  bustling  world  of  famous  Lords 
and  Ladies.  Around  and  about  them  all  are  woven 
webs,  dark  and  Ught,  of  stories  romantic  and 
pathetic,  humorous  and  tragic.  To  recount  them 
all  would  require  a  good-sized  library  of  books.  I 
have,  consequently,  made  choice  of  persons  and 
places,  great  and  small,  fairly  representative  of 
the  legions  of  my  Lords  and  Ladies.  Some  of 
them  are  already  known,  but  many  are  new 
aspirants  for  the  admiration  of  English  readers. 

xi 


xii  PREFACE 

Fifty  years  ago  (1861)  my  parents  first  visited 
the  Italian  Lakes  ;  their  travellers'  tales  interested 
me  vastly  as  a  boy.  Perhaps  they  gave  me  the 
''  idea  "  of  this  volume.  At  all  events,  my  own 
frequent  saunterings  in  those  beauty-spots  and 
intercourse  with  some  of  my  *' Lords  and  Ladies" 
developed  it. 

In  the  compilation  of  my  manuscript  I  have 
found  very  much  useful  matter  in  the  following 
pubUcations :  ''  ViUe  e  CasteUi  d'  ItaUa-Lombardia 
e  Laghi,"  pubhshed  at  Milan  ;  "  Lombard  Studies," 
by  Countess  Martinengo  Cesaresco ;  "  PaUanza 
Antica  e  Pallanza  Moderna,"  by  Signore  Agostino 
Viani ; ''  The  Lake  of  Cbmo,"  by  the  Rev.  T.  W.  M. 
Lund  ;  and  frequent  articles  in  "  Archivio  Storico 
Lombardo.^^  To  the  various  authors  I  now  oflEer 
my  sincere  acknowledgments  and  thanks. 

With  respect  to  the  illustrations  in  this  volume, 
I  have  had  to  content  myself  with  likenesses  of 
the  more  generally  known  and  accessible  Lords 
and  Ladies.  In  every  castle  and  villa  are  numerous 
family  portraits,  and  other  portraits,  too ;  but 
access  to  them  for  reproduction  has  not  been 
granted  by  their  owners. 

I  have  given  many  quotations  in  ItaKan,  some 
I  have  translated  in  footnotes :  but  I  have  left  the 
quaint  folklore  dialect  to  speak  for  itself. 

EDGCUMBE  STALEY. 


INTRODUCTION 

Reader  fair  and  critic  dubious,  I  beg  to  intro- 
duce to  you  my  "  Lords  and  Ladies  of  the  Italian 
Lakes." 

The  North  Italian  Lakeland  is  beautifully  illus- 
trated by  a  strip  of  old  rose  point  piUow-lace  of 
Venice  or  Milan.  The  topmost  border,  worked  in 
Vandykes  of  twisted  knots,  stands  very  reasonably 
for  the  serrated  ranges  of  the  Southern  Alps.  The 
field  of  the  reticella,  or  network,  exhibits  the  plain 
of  Lombardy,  with  its  free  roUing  uplands.  The 
open-work  of  the  lace,  artistically  irregular  in 
design,  represents  the  lacustrine  system,  with  its 
twenty  lakes  or  more,  of  every  conceivable  shape 
and  size.  The  more  closely  worked  arabesques 
and  scrolls  are  Uke  ranges  of  hill  and  dale,  where 
streams,  rushing  swiftly  or  gently  purling,  meander 
naturally.  The  Uttle  crowns  or  loops,  in  raised 
work,  innumerable,  are  the  thousand  and  one  castles 
and  villas  of  the  "  Lords  and  Ladies  of  the  Lakes." 
The  starUke  or  floral  adornments  in  the  network 
web  of  lace  tell  of  Lombard  towns  and  villages, 
scattered    here    and    there.      The    coronals    and 

xiii 


xiv  INTRODUCTION 

wreaths  of  the  imbricated  edge  are  the  great  cities 
of  the  plain — Novara,  Como,  Milan,  and  Treviglio  ; 
Bergamo,  Brescia,  Mantua,  and  Verona  ! 

This  may  be  deemed  an  arbitrary  and  fanciful 
comparison  ;  nevertheless,  it  is  as  worthy  of  ac- 
ceptance as  that  better-known  metaphor  which 
Ukens  Lombardy  to  an  artichoke,  the  leaves  of 
which  were  eaten  off  in  turn  by  the  vaUant  Lords 
of  Piedmont.  The  root  of  the  succulent  vegetable 
is  Milan,  the  chief  capital  of  the  territory  with 
which  this  volume  is  concerned. 

Whilst  necessarily  much  that  is  topographical 
and  artistic  in  interest  and  generally  well  known 
has  been  laid  under  contribution, — ^for  this  work 
is  a  sort  of  "  Guide  "  to  the  Itahan  Lakes, — the  aim 
in  view  has  rather  been  to  revivify  those  ravishing 
scenes  and  splendid  villas,  with  the  persons  and 
doings  of  some  of  their  most  fascinating  occupants. 
Two  thousand  years,  from  the  times  of  the  Greeks, 
Romans,  and  Lombards,  to  the  days  of  the  makers 
of  Modem  Italy,  have  rolled  leisurely  across  the 
most  famous  pageant-ground  in  Europe.  Go 
where  you  will  in  Lombardy,  and  you  will  not  fail 
to  note  Grecian  place-names,  Roman  inscriptions, 
and  Lombard  figures. 

The  Lombards  made  Pavia  their  first  capital, 
but  the  Franks,  two  hundred  years  later,  preferred 
Charlemagne's  city  of  Milan,  whose  rulers  and 


INTRODUCTION  xv 

people  sided  with  the  Guelphs.     Famihes  came 
and  families  went, — the  stronger  and  more  unscru- 
pulous always  in  the  front, — ^until  the  Visconti 
discomfited  all  rivals,  and  became  masters  of  all 
Lombardy.    Their  predominance  lasted  all  but  two 
centuries,  and  then  the  Sforzas  ruled  for  one  hun- 
dred years.     France,  Spain,  and  Austria  fought 
for  and  gained  the  mastery  in  turn,  each  leaving 
characteristics  of  their  dominion.     Napoleon  Buon- 
parte  created  the  first  kingdom  of  Italy, — Lom- 
bardy,  Venice,  South   Tirol,  Istria,  the   Emilia, 
and  the  Marches, — with  Milan  for  his  capital.     By 
the  Peace  of  Zurich  in  1859  Lombardy  was  ceded 
to  Napoleon  III.,  who  transferred  it  to  Sardinia  in 
exchange  for  Savoy  and  Nice.     Thus  the  cross  of 
the  House  of  Savoy  rose  triumphant  over  all  the 
peninsula,  and  the  Lords  and  Ladies  of  the  Lakes 
became  subjects  of  King  Victor  Emmanuel  with 
the  rest  of  the  people  of  all  Italy. 

The  itinerary  of  this  book's  pilgrimage  through 
the  Italian  Lakeland  opens  upon  the  southern 
banks  of  Lake  Maggiore  with  the  blessing  of  San 
Carlo  Borromeo  at  Arona.  Including  a  brief  visit 
to  the  idyUic  lake  of  Orta,  it  carries  us  right  up 
to  Locarno,  with  time  for  meditation  in  the  Church 
of  the  Madonna  del  Sasso.  Thence  to  Lugano  we 
fare,  with  her  lake  and  guardian  mountains,  and 
to  Varese  and  her  chain  of  charming  lakelets — 

3 


xvi  INTRODUCTION 

Biandrono,  Monate,  and  Comabbio.  Lake  Como, 
the  most  beautiful  of  all,  is  the  third  stage  of  the 
progress ;  and  then  Lecco  and  the  Brianza,  with  her 
cincture  of  lovely  little  lakes  —  Annone,  Pusiano, 
Segrino,  Alserio,  and  Montorfano — call  us  on  our 
way  to  the  Castle  of  Milan. 

Fairy  Lake  Iseo  and  the  captivating  villages  of 
the  Bergamesque  and  Brescian  Alps,  and  their 
rivers, — flowing  through  the  plains  of  Lombardy, — 
lead  into  the  last  stage  in  the  pilgrimage,  the  Lake 
of  Garda,  the  grandest  of  all  the  lakes  of  Northern 
Italy.  Upon  the  waters  of  these  lakes,  under  the 
shady  trees  upon  their  banks,  and  in  and  out  of 
the  castles  and  villas,  jotted  sumptuously  every- 
where, "  Lords  and  Ladies  of  the  Lakes  "  from  all 
the  towns  and  cities  of  the  Lombardy  have  fore- 
gathered, grimaced  and  postured,  flirted,  warred 
and  died.  Every  village  and  hamlet  has  its  story, 
every  church  and  college  its  traditions,  and  the 
waters,  mountains,  and  pastures  have  tales  to  tell 
of  the  romantic  past. 

The  headings  of  the  chapters  of  this  volume  are 
of  classical  nomenclature,  and  the  names  suggest  a 
fantasy, — quaint  and  beautiful, — the  ascription  or 
dedication  of  each  principal  lake  to  the  patronage 
of  a  resplendent  goddess  of  mythology.  Maggiore 
— "  Verbano  " — becomes  the  studiolo  of  Minerva  ; 
Lugano — ''  Ceresio  " — the  harvest-home  of  Ceres  ; 


INTRODUCTION  xvii 

Varese — "  Astraea  " — the  milky  way  of  the  Pleiades ; 
Como — "  Lario  " — the  boudoir  of  Venus  ;  Lecco 
and  the  Brianza  the  hunting-glade  of  Diana  ;  Iseo 
the  dreamland  of  Psyche ;  and  Garda — *'  Benaco  " 
— the  throne-room  of  Juno.  This  is  not,  after  aU, 
only  a  passing  fancy ;  for,  fortunately  enough,  in 
vindication  of  my  fantasy,  the  environment  of 
each  lake  exactly  matches  the  attributes  of  each 
goddess  in  the  cycle. 

By  way  of  further  "  Introduction  "  to  the  sub- 
ject-matter of  this  book,  and  to  expand  a  certain 
reference  in  the  "  Preface,"  the  following  quota- 
tions from  "  Autumn  Rambles  or  Fireside  Recol- 
lections," written  by  my  mother,  and  published 
in  1863,  are  offered  reverently  : 

"  Entering  the  vaUey  of  the  Maira,  it  appeared 
to  be  a  marshy  district.  Lago  di  Riva,  a  pic- 
turesque little  lake,  surrounded  by  mountains,  was 
soon  in  sight.  At  first  we  fancied  this  expanse  of 
water  must  be  a  portion  of  Lake  Como,  but, 
passing  under  some  tunnels  excavated  in  the  rock, 
we  came  upon  an  extensive  plain  or  morass  over 
which  pestilence  and  malaria  reign.  Here  the 
great  road  to  the  Stelvio  branches  off,  and  shortly 
we  reached  CoUco,  a  smaU  village,  where  we  left 
the  diUgence ;  and,  losing  no  time,  made  our  way 
to  the  steamer,  which  was  waiting  at  the  pier-head 
to  convey  us  to  Como. 


xviii  INTRODUCTION 

''  On  board  we  found  a  number  of  Sardinian 
troops  in  picturesque  uniforms,  and  we  were  quite 
enlivened  by  the  strains  of  their  miUtary  band. 
.  .  .  As  we  approached  Bellagio,  the  hills  bordering 
the  lake  were  clothed  with  walnut  and  chestnut 
trees ;  at  their  base  nestled  in  profusion  quaint 
villages  with  their  taU  white  campanile  churches. 
Many  of  the  houses  were  most  pictorial  in  external 
adornment,  for  the  waUs  were  covered  with  paint- 
ings of  the  gayest  and  grandest  colouring,  pro- 
ducing, however,  in  the  distance  a  rich  and  novel 
effect.  .  .  . 

"  At  Bellagio,  also,  the  rain  descended  in  tor- 
rents. We  were  compelled  to  seek  shelter  in  the 
cabin,  and  content  ourselves  with  watching  the 
deep  blue  waters  from  the  small  loophole  windows  ; 
and,  by  way  of  variety,  we  partook  of  a  most 
wretched  dinner.  Truly  there  is  only  '  a  step  from 
the  sublime  to  the  ridiculous  !'  At  Bellagio  we 
heard  of  the  arrest  of  Garibaldi,  in  whose  move- 
ments (rash  as  they  were)  we  could  not  help  being 
deeply  interested.  Upon  landing  at  Como,  we 
made  the  best  of  our  way  to  the  Hotel  del'  Angelo, 
a  comfortable  building  with  balconies  and  terraces 
overlooking  the  lake ;  but  not  waiting  to  explore 
the  city  in  the  unfavourable  state  of  the  weather, 
we  determined  to  push  on  to  Milan.  ... 

''  In  passing  through  the  fertile  plains  of  Lorn- 


INTRODUCTION  xix 

bardy,  we  noticed  the  luxuriant  growth  of  the  mul- 
berry-trees, and  how  that  beautiful  villas,  gardens, 
and  cultivated  fields  gave  a  Ufelike  appearance  to 
the  scene.  .  .  .  Long  before  we  arrived  at  Milan, 
the  magnificent  Duomo, — a  mass  of  dazzUng  white 
marble, — appeared  in  the  distance.  .  .  .  Driving 
to  our  hotel,  we  were  charmed  with  the  noble 
aspect  of  the  city, — the  streets  spacious  and  the 
houses  well  built — all  characteristic  of  wealth  and 
comfort.  .  .  .  The  Milanese  ladies  have  much 
grace  in  their  carriage,  and  wear  black  lace  veils, 
arranged  with  taste,  something  in  the  Spanish 
mantilla  style.  .  .  .  The  Milanese  are  an  excit- 
able people,  and  one  circumstance  was  a  little 
symptomatic  of  their  character.  We  saw  written 
upon  the  waUs  of  the  principal  thoroughfare  :  '  A 
Morte  Napoleone  /'  .  .  . 

"  Having  visited,  examined,  and  admired  the 
principal  places  of  interest,  we  decided  to  return 
to  Como.  It  is  such  a  very  quaint-looking  town, 
and  the  natives  are  famed  for  their  perseverance 
and  industry.  .  .  .  The  weather  was  glorious, 
and  we  were  longing  to  feast  upon  the  beauties  of 
the  exquisite  scenery.  .  .  .  We  seemed  to  be 
moving  between  banks  clothed  with  ohves,  and 
vines,  and  orchards,  embowered  in  trees,  amongst 
which  stood  villas,  with  their  gardens,  fountains, 
wd  orange-trees.     The  sky  above  was  a  celestial 


XX  INTRODUCTION 

blue,  the  water  beneath  clear  as  crystal.  ...  As 
we  approached  Menaggio  the  sun  beamed  forth 
with  deUcious  radiance,  and,  landing,  we  secured 
places  in  an  open  diligence  for  Porlezza.  Before 
starting,  we  rambled  about,  and  were  interested 
with  the  manner  in  which  the  women  were  spinning. 
The  flax  is  pulled  to  pieces  without  the  aid  of 
machinery,  and  the  thread  spun  in  the  most  primi- 
tive method.  .  .  .  Bellagio  and  the  Lake  of  Lecco 
appeared  in  the  distance,  and  the  landscape  seemed 
to  be  clothed  with  magical  loveliness.  .  .  .  Em- 
barking at  Porlezza,  we  commenced  our  explora- 
tion of  this  exquisite  sheet  of  water.  Before  land- 
ing at  Lugano,  we  made  arrangements  with  a 
coachman  to  drive  us  in  an  open  carriage  to 
Luino.  ... 

"  Leaving  Lugano,  we  made  a  considerable  cir- 
cuit, the  views  becoming  very  grand.  .  .  .  Vege- 
tation here  has  attained  a  climax  of  richness  and 
profusion,  stamping  upon  the  entire  landscape  a 
serenity  and  luxuriance  perfectly  bewitching.  .  .  . 
Evening  closing  in,  flashes  of  lightning  and  peals 
of  thunder  betokened  the  approach  of  a  violent 
storm,  but  we  were  fortunate  enough  to  reach 
the  hotel  at  Luino  without  any  rain  .  .  .  Lago 
Maggiore,  the  lake  of  renown,  spreading  its  deep 
blue  waters  at  our  feet." 

The  year  of  my  parents'  visit  to  Italian  Lake- 


INTRODUCTION  xxi 

land  was  one  of  dire  disaster  for  the  United  King- 
dom, when  all  v/ho  could  had  to  put  their  hands 
in  their  pockets  and  open  the  instruments  of  aid 
to  assist  the  cotton  operatives  rendered  destitute 
by  the  lamentable  civil  war  in  the  United  States 
of  North  America.  In  her  "  Preface  "  to  "  Autumn 
Rambles,"  my  mother,  who  was  in  dehcate  health, 
says  :  "  Being  unable  to  join  the  devoted  band  of 
ladies — true  Sisters  of  Charity — an  idea  struck  me 
that  I  might  turn  to  a  charitable  account  a  dis- 
jointed diary  I  had  kept  during  a  recent  visit  to 
the  Continent."  The  book  was  published  in  due 
course,  and  the  proceeds  vastly  exceeded  all  ex- 
pectation, for  a  sum  of  £50  was  handed  over  to 
the  Cotton  Operatives'  Relief  Fund. 

***** 

Of  each  "  Lady  of  the  Lakes,"  Rafifaelo  Gual- 
terotto's  Tuscan  poem  of  Nature  and  Love  may 
well  be  sung  : 

*'  Oh,  ever  pleasant  and  stately  groves, 
Your  scented  foliage  spread — cool  and  green, 

That  our  sweet  Lady,  'neath  your  screen, 
On  her  couch  of  Love  may  safe  repose. 

Link'd  boughs  of  pine  and  beech,  tall  and  fair. 
Green  laurel,  sweet  myrtle,  shady  oak 

Shield  from  harm  her  golden  locks  of  hair, 
Guard  her  form  from  noontide's  fiery  stroke." 


LORDS  AND   LADIES   OF  THE 
ITALIAN    LAKES 

CHAPTER  I 

" VERBANO " 
THE   LAKE   OF  MAGGIORE 

*'  Verbano," — the  classic  style,  "  Lacus  Verb- 
anus^^^ — has  clung  through  all  the  ages  to  the 
chief  of  Lombardy's  lordly  lakes.  Its  shape  is 
courtly — a  bended  knee :  the  token  of  worship, 
beauty,  wisdom,  and  circumstance.  In  the  Court 
of  High  Parnassus  one  divine  personality  has  very 
specially  aU  these  attributes — Minerva,  the  goddess 
of  the  thew  and  wit  of  men.  Upon  her  majestic 
head,  upon  her  proud  breast,  and  upon  her  supple 
hands,  she  wears  the  precious  jewels  of  prudence, 
courage,  and  perseverance — Arbitress  of  mundane 
affairs,  most  wise  of  deities.  Well  may  we  see 
the  derivation  of  "  Verbano  "  in  the  classic  name 
"  Minerva "  :  Verbano,  the  watery  domain  of 
enterprise — the  "  Studiolo  "  of  the  Muses. 
The  aspect  of  the  Goddess  is  enigmatic,  and  of 

23 


24    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

her  inscrutable  wisdom  Dante  Alighieri  has  spoken 

in  V  II  Paradiso  "  : 

C-'   .  V  ; 

,„   ,  ,^    "  Sanz  esserimi  profetta 

.*;  r  }  ']      Da  to  la  voglio  lui  discerno  meglio, 

Che  tu  qualunque  costa  t'  e  piu  certa 
Perch'  io  la  veggio  vel  verace  speglio, 
Che  fadi  te  pareglio  all'  altre  cosa 
E  nulla  face  lui  t'  se  pareglio."  * 

(Canto  XXV I. ). 

Thus  may  we  predicate  of  "  Verbano "  too, 
and  her  inexplicable  charms  which  open  and  delight 
every  sense.  The  Goddess  of  Maggiore  is,  how- 
ever, no  languorous  mermaid — of  such  an  one 
and  her  wiles  Goethe  wrote  mysteriously  :— 

"  Half  she  drew  him, 
Half  sank  he  in, 
And  never  more  was  seen." 

Minerva  or  "  Verbano  "  enchants  with  words  of 
wisdom  and  emboldens  all  who  take  heed. 

"  Maggiore "  is  quite  a  modem  name — 
''  Greater."  Great  she  is  in  aqueous  area,  great 
in  picturesque  beauty,  great  in  seductive  charm, 
and  great  in  historical  romance. 

*  "  No  need  thy  will  be  told,  which,  I,  unknown. 
Better  discern  than  thou,  whatever  thing 
Thou  holdst  most  certain  :  that  will  I  see 
In  wisdom — Truth's  mirror — comprehending, 
By  self-enlightenment  all  things  enlightening, 
All  is  open  mind  and  heart." 


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"  VERBANO ''  25 

Upon  the  opal-hued  mirror  of  her  wide  expanse 
are  reflected  the  lights  and  shadows  of  the  sump- 
tuous pageants  of  Lombardy  and  Milan.  Her 
lovely  features  and  her  comely  form  are  worthy, 
too,  of  the  painter's  canvas  and  the  poet's  song. 
She  arrests  the  hurrying  feet  of  travellers  from 
afar,  ever  farther  on  their  way  by  her  lacustrine 
sisters — beauteous,  like  herself — whilst  she  tells 
her  fascinating  stories  of  the  past. 

Lepontini,  Etruscans,  Celts,  and  Romans,  have 
all  left  marks  ethnologically  and  archseologically 
in  race  and  ruin.  Ostrogoths  and  Lombards 
made  the  great  reservoir  of  the  Ticino  their  rendez- 
vous in  struggles  for  supremacy.  Theodoric, 
Charlemagne  and  Alberic  have,  with  their  hosts, 
crossed  and  recrossed  the  ample  water.  Towers 
and  castles  sprang  up  on  spiu*  and  spit,  and  feudal 
rule  was  absolute.  Guelphs  and  Ghibellines 
struggled  on  lake  and  shore,  and  prolonged  their 
feud  when  checked  elsewhere ;  every  town  became 
a  republic  for  the  nonce,  and  rose  in  conflict  with 
its  neighbours.  Dominating  clans  and  famihes 
farmed  the  resources  of  the  Lakeland,  and  fought 
with  one  another — ^Del  Castello,  Barbavara,  Tor- 
riani,  Visconti,  Sforza,  and  Borromei.  Good  blood 
was  shed  plentifully,  and  crimsoned  by  it  were  the 
green-blue  ripples,  and  dyed  the  shingles  of  the 
beach.     The  last-named  family  at  length  became 


26     LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

champions  and  lords  of  Maggiore  and  its  valley, 
and  defenders  of  men's  rights  against  the  last 
desperadoes  of  the  Dark  Ages,  the  Mazzarditi  of 
the  Swiss  frontier. 

The  destinctive  marks  of  Maggiore  are  her 
exquisite  islets  in  the  lake  ;  her  splended  range 
of  mountain  guardians,  capped  with  snow ;  and 
the  pulsating  movements  of  her  ever-changing 
currents  —  these  topographically  ;  economically 
the  independent  spirit  of  her  peoples,  their  acute 
touch  with  modem  movements,  and  their  pros- 
perity. "  Maggiore,"  too,  is  the  name  the  natives 
have  for  the  most  dreaded  tempests  which,  in 
some  years,  lash  the  water  to  a  maelstrom,  and  link 
earth  and  heaven  in  a  consuming  deluge,  wherein 
things  of  man  and  man  himself  are  annihilated. 


I. 

Pallanza  is,  from  many  points  of  view,  the 
sovereign  town  of  Lago  Maggiore.  Arona,  Intra, 
and  Locarno,  across  the  Swiss  border,  may  not 
grant  her  the  distinction.  Rivalries  are  inscru- 
table. Without  wasting  time  in  argument,  it 
may  be  safely  asserted  that  the  life  and  soul  of 
splendid  "  Verbano  "  are  most  vividly  expressed 
at  ^^  Pallanza  la  Graciosa,^^ 

On  the  fall  of  the  Roman  Empire,  Pallanza  was 


"  VERBANO  **  27 

conquered  by  the  ubiquitous  Lombards.  Charle- 
magne made  his  North  ItaUan  home  at  the  Castle 
of  Saint  Angelo,  on  the  fortified  islet  of  San 
Giovanni,  and  gave  this  desirable  possession  to 
Bishop  Luitardo,  who  was  the  travelling  diocesan 
of  the  Lakelands.  He  in  time  bequeathed  the 
castle,  island,  and  the  church,  which  he  built,  to 
the  Bishop  of  Novara  in  perpetuity.  The  good 
Bishop's  bequest,  however,  was  annulled  by 
Frederic  Barbarossa,  who  invested  Giovanni  del 
Castello, — the  commander  of  his  Lombard  contin- 
gent of  mihtary  raUies, — with  the  fief  and  freehold 
rights.  This  ancient  family  was  subsequently 
divided  into  three  principal  branches — Barbavare, 
Cavalcaselli,  and  Crollamonti.  The  Castle  of 
Pallanza,  now  a  neghgible  ruin,  within  the  grounds 
of  Villa  Grifiini,  was  built  by  the  elder  branch 
for  the  defence  of  the  rights  of  possession  against 
the  claims  of  the  Bishops  of, Novara.  Meanwhile, 
Pietro  Cavalcasello,  who  had  been  chosen  Podestdy 
or  mayor,  of  the  rapidly  growing  town  of  Pallanza, 
led  the  townfolk  in  an  aUiance  with  the  inhabi- 
tants of  Vercelli,  and  Lodi,  and  the  valley  of  the 
Ossola,  in  a  league  against  clerical  encroachment. 
Times  out  of  mind  town,  castle,  churches,  and 
convents  were  sacked  and  burnt,  and  then  for  a 
century  the  Barbavare  held  the  Lord-Para- 
mountcy  of  the  commune.     A  still  more  powerful 


28     LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

family  now  came  into  conflict  with  the  ruling  race 
— the  Visconti  of  Milan — and  drove  them,  men 
and  women,  out,  pacifying  the  people  by  a  charter, 
which  constituted  Pallanza  a  free  town,  in  feu 
neither  to  Pope  nor  Emperor.  The  last  Visconto, 
Duke  Pilippo  Maria,  in  1422  granted  to  his  faithful 
seneschal,  Francesco  Castiglione,  the  title  and 
rights  of  Count  of  PaUanza,  and  with  these,  quaint 
powers — to  legitimize  children  bom  in  the  com- 
mune out  of  marriage  ;  to  grant  degrees  to  doctors 
and  notaries ;  and,  as  Captain-General,  to  levy 
toll  on  all  vessels  passing  up  and  down  the  lake. 
The  Castighoni  were  an  ancient  Pallanza  family. 
Charles  V.,  in  1541,  named  them  the  first  family  in 
Lombardy,  and  created  Pietro  and  Bartolommeo, 
the  two  heads.  Counts  Palatine  of  the  Roman 
Empire.  In  the  meantime  the  Sforzas  of  Milan 
had  succeeded  to  the  possessions  and  honours  of 
the  Visconti ;  but  their  intrusion  was  resented  by 
the  Borromei,  and  again  the  land  and  lake  were 
plunged  in  warfare,  until  Pallanza  was  again 
acknowledged  a  sovereign  -  city  under  her  own 
Count  and  Captain-General  of  the  Lake. 

During  all  these  commotions  and  vicissitudes, 
many  distinguished  men  made  their  marks  upon 
the  "  Roll  of  Fame,"  and  many  attractive  women 
graced  the  streets  and  houses — true  "  Lords  and 
Ladies    of    the    Lake."     Such    were    Francesco 


"  VERBANO  "  29 

Morizzia  and  Romerio  Pozzoli,  historians,  Nicolo 
Regna,  Giovanni  Morizzia,  Giovannino  Viani, 
Gian  Pietro  Bianchini,  and  Gian  Antonio  Varnei, 
champions  of  Uberty ;  with  Andrea  Baghone, 
Antonio  Giacobino,  Giacomo  Ruffini,  and  Angelo 
CadoHni  —  benefactors  and  administrators  —  the 
last  named  preconized  in  the  Cardinalate  by 
Pope  Gregory  XVI.  The  "Roll"  may  be  ex- 
ploited for  two  centuries  more  with  profit  and 
instruction  ;  indeed,  Pallanza  was  recognized  as 
the  nursery  of  literature  and  science.  In  1603 
she  was  caUed  "  a  very  ancient  town,  inhabited 
by  a  goodly  number  of  gentlemen,  scholars,  and 
rich  merchants."  Bologna,  Milan,  Genoa,  Venice, 
Rome,  and  Naples,  aU  felt  the  impress  of  talented 
Pallanzaese.  The  fame  of  her  schools,  the  renown 
of  her  liberties,  and  the  enterprise  of  her  sons, 
kept  the  flame  and  fame  of  the  "  fair  city  of 
Verbano,"  as  she  was  called,  brightly  illuminated 
in  every  walk  of  human  enterprise.  Ascerbo  Moriz- 
zia, writing  his  "  Memorie  "  in  1603,  says  :  "  The 
merchants  of  the  noble  town  of  Pallanza  have  now 
to  consider  how  best  to  hold  a  general  fair  to 
accommodate  the  multitudes  of  peoples  who  con- 
gregate in  her  marts,  especially  from  distant 
places,  to  buy  and  sell  every  conceivable  thing 
needful  for  human  life,  and,  I  may  add,"  he  very 
quaintly  says,  "  for  eternity  as  well.  ..."     The 


30     LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

town  is  the  granary  of  Lombardy,  and  of  the 
Swiss  lords  on  the  other  side  of  the  mountains.  .  .  . 
Cattle  and  horses  are  brought  from  the  lands  of 
the  Teuton,  and  with  them  come  many  crafty 
dealers.  ..." 

An  amusing  and  perfectly  characteristic  anec- 
dote of  the  time  and  dominion  of  Francesco 
Sforza  II.  is  quite  apropos  of  the  commercial 
instinct  of  the  Pallanzaese.  It  runs  as  follows  : 
"Battista  Bertolotto,  a  member  of  a  weU-to-do 
family  and  a  leading  citizen  of  Pallanza,  was 
one  day  in  the  cloth  market  of  Milan,  where  he 
boasted,  not  wisely,  but  perhaps  truly,  that  he 
could  cover  the  Bay  of  Pallanza  with  scarlet  noble 
cloth  !  The  Duke  heard  of  this  rash  statement, 
and  finding,  by  inquiry,  that  the  man  reaUy  was  a 
wealthy  merchant,  he  sent  for  him.  After  asking 
him  about  his  business  house  and  his  business 
methods,  he  naively  proposed  that  he  should,  to 
show  his  munificence  and  loyalty,  undertake  the 
restoration  of  the  Vercelli  tower  of  the  CasteUo 
of  Pallanza.  Bertolotto  never  dreamt  that  the 
Duke  was  in  serious  mood,  but  regarded  the  sug- 
gestion as  a  compHment  and  a  joke,  and  began 
gracefully  to  deprecate  the  flattering  proposal. 
One  look  at  Sforza's  face  was  enough  to  disabuse 
the  merchant's  mind  of  pleasantry ;  for,  with  a 
sardonic  smile,  and  in  a  rasping  voice,  the  Duke 


"  VERBANO  "  31 

repeated  his  proposal  as  a  command.  Kneeling, 
he  kissed  the  Sovereign's  ring,  and  professed  him- 
self honoured  by  the  commission.  Back  he  went 
with  a  sorrowful  heart  to  his  home  on  Verbano, 
and  began  to  carry  out  Duke  Francesco's  order ; 
V  but,  as  he  progressed  with  the  unwelcome  work, 
more  and  more  stringent  were  the  orders  from 
Milan.  Certain  architects  were  to  be  employed  ; 
their  plans  were  to  be  approved  by  the  ducal 
council,  a  certain  kind  of  costly  stone  was  indicated 
for  use,  and,  to  add  to  the  poor  man's  perplexities, 
he  was  ordered  to  pay  into  the  ducal  exchequer 
a  good  round  sum  of  money,  by  way  of  security 
that  the  work  should  be  well  done  and  finished 
to  the  Duke's  satisfaction.  Bertolotto  resigned 
himseK  to  fate ;  he  made  no  more  wild  boastings, 
and  to  recoup  his  outlay  he  sagaciously  advanced 
the  retail  prices  of  his  goods,  and  raised  the  market 
against  the  ducal  buyers.  In  the  midst  of  his 
worries  he  put  up  on  the  fountain  basin  outside 
his  palace  a  strange  device — a  human  heart  and 
a  money-bag  crowned  with  a  ducal  coronet,  and 
under  it  the  suggestive  motto,  'I  do  not  despair !'  " 
The  tower  which  Bertolotto  built, — called  by 
the  people  of  Pallanza  "  Torrione  il  Pallanzotto,^' 
— stood  well  the  test  of  the  conditions  of  its  con- 
struction, and  four  hundred  years  of  fierce  cold 
tramontana  and  burning  hot  iverna  did  it  Httle 

3 


32     LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

damage.  In  1848  frenzied  hands  of  revolution 
demolished  it,  and  not  a  stone  remains  to-day  to 
mark  the  tower  of  Bertolotto's  pride. 

Spanish,  French,  and  Austrian  overlords  of 
Lombardy  have  in  turn  traversed  the  piers  and 
streets  of  PaUanza,  robbing  where  they  listed, 
and  grinding  down  the  inhabitants.  To  these 
scenes  of  tyranny,  family  feuds  and  reUgious 
rivalries  have  added  categories  of  misfortunes  ; 
but  Pallanza  has  survived  the  hard  knocks  of  the 
past,  and  still  is  "  Regina  di  Verhano  " — her  people 
the  proudest  of  all  the  lake  -  dwellers,  lording 
themselves,  as  did  their  ancestors  in  the  good 
old  times  long  past. 

One  of  Pallanza's  most  bitter  inner  squabbles 
still  divides  the  population.  In  1822  Cardinal 
Morozzo  was  called  upon  to  arbitrate  between 
the  claims  of  Pallanza  and  the  neighbouring  town 
of  Suna,  to  the  sanctuary  Church  of  La  Madonna 
di  Campania,  situated  between  the  two  rival 
communities,  at  the  foot  of  Monte  Rosso.  For 
generations  each  town  claimed  the  privilege  of 
the  Sunday  High  Mass,  and  the  celebration  within 
the  sacred  building  of  their  several  rehgious 
anniversaries.  No  sooner  were  the  Pallanzese 
comfortably  upon  their  knees  in  devout  contem- 
plation, than  the  Sunese  clamoured  at  the  portals 
for  their  ejection — and  vice  versa  ran   the  riot. 


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"  VERBANO  "  33 

Assault  and  battery  became  the  order  of  the  day, 
and  both  sides  claimed  the  victory.  The  worthy 
Cardinal  devised  a  quixotic  settlement :  to  Pallanza 
was  alloted  the  grand  Church  of  San  Stefano, — to 
Suna  that  of  Santa  Lucia,  whilst  the  Church  of  the 
Madonna  was  closed  to  both ! 

In  the  Church  of  San  Leonardo  is  a  tablet 
recording  the  virtues  of  one  Bernardino  Innocenti. 
The  wildest  of  the  wild  in  youthful  days,  he  was 
sent  as  a  student  to  the  University  of  Padua,  "  to 
cure  the  devil  in  him  !"  Ringleader  in  all  deeds 
of  daring  and  turbulence,  he  was  ultimately  locked 
up  with  three  other  incorrigibles  in  the  Castle 
guardhouse,  and  fed  on  spare  food  and  daily 
whipped.  Bernardino  did  not  Hke  this  way  of 
going  on  at  all,  and  by  some  means  or  other  he 
bribed  his  guardians,  and  made  his  escape  to 
Bologna,  where,  apparently,  he  turned  over  a 
new  leaf,  for  he  took  his  degree  of  doctor  within 
a  twelvemonth,  and  was  welcomed  back  at 
Pallanza  by  his  doting  parents  and  his  old  school- 
master. In  time  the  renegade  became  "  the  legal 
oracle  of  Lombardy,"  and  King  PhiHp  IV.  of 
Spain  appointed  him  Fiscal  Advocate  for  the  entire 
Duchy  of  Milan. 

Pallanza,  from  her  administrative  and  miUtary 
pre-eminence,  no  less  than  from  the  enterprise  and 
opulence  of  her  citizens,  became  the  arbiter  of 


34     LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

fashion  and  the  leader  in  refinement  among  the 
communes  of  the  lake,  and  among  the  prosperous 
inhabitants  of  the  adjacent  valleys.  Then,  too, 
the  distance  from  Milan  and  the  other  cities  of 
Lombardy,  and  an  inherent  hatred  and  contempt 
of  the  JSTovarese,  elevated  the  lacustrine  capital 
to  an  autocratic  position.  To  be  sure,  her  travelled 
merchants  brought  home  foreign  ways  and  foreign 
things,  but  the  PaUanzese  looked  askance  on  out- 
landish fashions,  and  stood  by  their  own.  In  the 
architecture  of  her  buildings  and  in  the  domestic 
arrangement  of  her  households  she  held  a  imi- 
quity  quite  her  own,  and  these  are  also  traits  of 
the  native  of  to-day.  The  "  Spirito  del  Cam- 
f  anile  "  was  quite  as  rife  in  proud  Pallanza  as  in 
fascinating  Florence  :  it  is  so  still ! 

Marriages  were  almost  exclusively  confined  to 
youths  and  maidens  native  bom.  Brides  and 
grooms  were,  as  a  general  rule,  baptized,  con- 
firmed, and  wedded  in  the  selfsame  churches. 
This  had,  to  be  sure,  its  disadvantages — first  of 
all  in  the  too  intimate  mixture  of  hke  blood,  and 
then  in  the  inconvenience  of  Umited  nomenclature. 
As  a  rule,  every  PaUanzese  was  known,  not  by  his 
or  her  patronymic,  but  by  a  nickname.  The  law 
of  primogeniture  was  very  strictly  observed, 
younger  children  taking,  so  to  speak,  pot-luck. 
Parents  were  accorded  titles  of   nobihty — "My 


"  VERBANO  "  36 

good  Lord  Father,"  and  "  My  Lady  Mother,"  were 
in  every  child's  mouth,  rich  and  poor  ahke.  Very 
courtly  manners  were  cultivated  within  the  home 
circle.  Girls  were  required  to  curtsy  lowly  each 
morning  and  evening  to  the  parents,  and  to  kiss 
the  wedding-ring  of  their  mother.  Boys  obeyed 
a  still  stricter  rule  of  etiquette,  for  in  addition  to 
reverential  greetings,  they  were  expected  to  bow 
low  to  both  their  parents  before  and  after  common 
meals  and  when  they  left  the  room. 

With  respect  to  sumptuary  laws,  the  century 
marked  the  vogue,  not  the  year  or  month,  and  their 
distinctive  costumes  became  fixed  fashions, — char- 
acteristic of  the  people  of  Pallanza, — when  other 
communities  observed  varieties  of  modes.  Men- 
folk of  all  conditions  had  smooth-shaven  faces  and 
well  cut  and  powdered  crops  of  hair.  Three- 
cornered  hats,  not  round  berrette,  were  rigorously 
worn  ;  and  tunics  and  hose  were  starched,  em- 
broidered, and  adorned  with  parti-coloured  ribbons. 
Tall  hats  were  not  introduced  till  after  the  great 
French  Revolution  at  the  end  of  the  eighteenth 
century ;  then,  too,  the  fashion  of  heavy  whiskers 
and  long  hair  came  in,  and  big  white  cravats 
muffled  up  the  manly  throat.  The  fair  sex  had 
also  their  conventions  in  the  laws  of  dress.  They 
wore,  when  under  middle  age,  very  little  but  thin 
gauze  fichus  over  their  bare  bosoms,  but  their 


36     LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

bodices  were  cut  stiffly,  and  their  skirts  were  fully 
gathered  and  woven  of  stiff  brocade  of  native  manu- 
facture or  of  stout  woollen  cloth.  Jewels  they 
wore  sparingly,  but  almost  every  woman  weighed 
down  her  ear-lobes  with  massive  hoops  of  gold, 
and  a  gold  chain  and  pendant  were  added  on 
festivals  and  at  receptions. 

ReHgious  observances  were  scrupulously  cele- 
brated. A  son  or  daughter,  or  a  dependant, 
absent  from  Mass  on  Sunday  was  severely  repri- 
manded. The  names  of  such  citizens, — and  there 
was  no  respect  of  persons — who  failed  to  hand  to 
the  Pievano,  or  parish  priest, — when  he  made  his 
yearly  visit  of  domiciUary  benediction  on  Ascension 
Day, — ^their  certificate  of  Communion  at  Easter, 
were  pubHshed  from  the  pulpit  and  posted  on  the 
church-doors.  Members  of  Church  fraternities 
and  guilds  went  up  and  down  the  streets  with 
stout  staves  in  their  hands  before  and  during 
Church  services  to  hustle  truants  and  loiterers  of 
all  ages  into  church,  and,  when  inside,  sleepy  wor- 
shippers were  aroused  to  devotional  attention  by 
sound  bumps  upon  their  heads  and  backs  !  All 
worthy  men  competed  at  processions,  in  and  out 
of  church,  for  the  honour  of  bearing  the  poles  of 
the  sacramental  canopy  and  the  crucifixes,  and 
banners  of  the  festival.  This  custom  is  still  ob- 
served in  and  about  Pallanza.     Places  of  business 


*'  VERBANO  "  37 

and  shops  remained  closed  during  Mass.  Shoe- 
makers only  were  allowed  to  work  on  Sundays, 
and  then  with  half-closed  doors  and  for  haK  the 
day.  This  custom  gained  the  designation  of 
Mezzanta  (HaM-and-Half !).  Mondays  were  allotted 
to  slaves  of  the  last  for  rest  and  prayer  by  way  of 
compensation. 

The  Pallanzese  were  great  sticklers  for  the  daily 
siesta.  Winter  as  well  as  summer  found  the  men- 
folk, at  least,  sprawling  indolently  or  cosily 
chatting  under  the  thick  foliage  of  the  chestnuts 
and  limes  which  had  been  planted  for  this  express 
purpose  in  a  circle  by  the  port,  and  called  after 
the  Barbavara  benefactor  of  the  pastl.  Gambling, 
characteristically  enough,  formed  the  occupation 
of  the  less  sleepily  inclined,  and  all  games  of 
chance,  —  bar  the  gesticulatory  Mora,  —  were 
played  craftily.  Other  games,  too,  of  course, 
were  the  fashion  :  bowls  for  the  men  and  boys, 
ninepins  for  the  girls.  These  were  enjoyed  in  the 
courtyards  around  the  esplanade.  Whilst  the  men 
on  Sundays  abstained  from  their  sporting  pro- 
clivities openly,  the  women  of  the  town  sauntered 
to  and  fro  displaying  their  best  gowns,  dyed  by 
preference  in  brilliant  colours — scarlet,  apple- 
green,  pistachio,  and  saffron.  Blue  was  not  in 
favour  ;  it  was  the  common  colour  of  the  coarse 
linen  cloth  worn  on  week-days.   Water-parties  were 


38     LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

arranged  to  beauty-spots  not  far  away — more  fre- 
quently than  not  upon  one   of  the   Borromean 
Islands.     The  gondolas  in  use  had  gilded  prows, 
and  were  covered  with  gay  awnings  and  carried 
floating  bannerets.     These  aquatic  diversions  were 
shared  in  by  all  the  notables  as  well  as  by  the 
ordinary  citizens  ;  indeed,  pride  of  family  was  dis- 
played by  "  Lords  and  Ladies  of  the  Lake,"  for 
each  noble  vied  with  his  peer  in  the  splendour  of 
his  craft,  the  costliness  of  its  decoration,  and  the 
magnificence  of  his  guests.     Musicians,  too,  and 
entertainers  of  all  kinds  were  afloat  to  amuse  the 
company  and  gather  in  silver  harvests.     The  proud 
Borromei  in  particular  made  brave  shows  on  Sun- 
days  and  festivals.     Their  high-decked  gondola 
was,  in  fact,  a  bucintoro,  or  state  barge,  very  beauti- 
fully carved  in  dark  wood  veneers,  and  thickly 
gilded.     It    was    propelled   by    twenty    oarsmen 
arrayed  in  the  family  colours  and  bearing  the 
family  badge  upon  their  breasts  and  backs.     The 
canopies  were  of  silk  with  gold  and  silver  fringes, 
and  heraldic  ensigns  were  borne  aloft  on  gilded 
poles.     The  aim  of  all  these  gay  water-parties  was, 
of  course,  alfresco  refreshment  and  amusement, 
and  here  citizen  rivalled  citizen  in  the  gorgeous- 
ness  of  the  display.     It  was  Httle  trouble  to  carry 
upon  the  festive  craft  silver  and  gold  cups  and 
brilHant  crystal  beakers.     Flowers,   too,   formed 


"  VERBANO  "  39 

delightful  accessories  to  the  feasts,  placed  among 
the  viands  and  worn  by  the  company. 

One  game  there  was — the  game  of  games — 
Pallone,  played  by  every  sort  of  man.  In  this 
the  woman's  part  was  as  spectator  only.  The 
pitch  was  the  piazza  by  the  harbour.  Each 
festival  the  Podestd  or  Sindaco  sent  early  intima- 
tion to  all  inhabitants  in  the  square  at  what  hour, 
before  or  after  Vespers,  the  game  would  begin. 
Windows  and  architectural  ornaments  were  ordered 
to  be  netted,  or  if  the  windows  opened  into  rooms, 
to  set  them  well  back,  as  no  claim  was  allowed  for 
broken  glass.  The  young  men  of  the  highest 
families  were  usually  the  players,  arrayed  in  short 
tight  drawers,  bare-legged,  with  well-laced  shoes. 
Their  tunics  were  also  tight  to  the  body,  and  parti- 
coloured ;  .their  heads  were  bare.  The  best- 
developed  figures  always,  of  course,  gained  the 
approbation  of  the  fair  sex,  and  the  nimbler  they 
were  so  much  greater  was  the  applause.  Drawn 
games  were  inadmissible :  the  players  played  to  a 
finish,  sometimes  after  dusk, — when  not  infre- 
quently they  came  to  blows.  If  anybody  got  an 
unwelcome  knock  with  the  hard  wooden  ball,  he 
was  an  object  of  derision,  and  had  to  rub  the 
bruise  in  as  he  felt  incUned ! 

The  Pallanzese  were  fond,  like  other  folk,  of 
theatrical   displays — ^not  merely  the  well   stage- 


40     LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

managed  spectacle-plays  and  mysteries,  but  scenes 
of  humour,  tragedy,  and  burlesque.  At  the  end 
of  the  sixteenth  century  a  modest  httle  theatre 
was  erected  in  Via  Ruga,  wherein  gentlemen 
visitors  at  the  great  houses  within  reach — and 
sometimes  the  ladies,  too, — gave  attractive  per- 
formances. The  building  had  no  boxes  ;  it  had  a 
pit  and  gallery.  The  families  of  Innocent!  and 
Azari  in  particular  were  famous  for  their  theatrical 
displays,  which  were  entitled  "Le  Gelosie  di 
Zelinda  e  Lindoro  " — ^The  Rivals,  or  Zelinda  and 
Lindoro — ''II  Laccio  Amoroso''' — ^The  Snare  of 
Love — and  so  forth.  These  performances  and 
concerts  were  generally  given  in  behalf  of  local 
charities.  At  the  end  of  Via  Ruga  was  a  building 
called  "  II  Campidoglio,''  a  sort  of  Club  House, 
where,  on  winter  evenings,  the  "Lords  and  Ladies," 
and  the  chief  citizens,  met  for  social  intercourse, 
gaming,  dancing  and  other  indoor  recreations. 
Within  the  entrance,  on  the  ground-floor,  was  what 
we  now  caU  a  "restaurant," — ^backed  by  a  com- 
modious kitchen, — where,  beyond  the  long  tables 
spread  with  cleanest  napery  and  furnished  with 
every  adjunct  of  a  comfortable  meal,  crackled  and 
blazed  the  great  open  fire,  with  its  revolving  spits 
of  roasting  dainties.  At  the  principal  table  in  the 
centre  were  high-backed  chairs  of  circumstance 
for  the  Podesta  and  magistrates  and  other  men  of 


o 

K     o     rs 
n     «     ^ 


•  •  •  c  • 


"  VERBANO  "  41 

eminence.  Disputes  were  frequent  and  abrupt ; 
sometimes  they  turned  upon  the  important  ques- 
tion as  to  whose  duty  it  was  to  poke  the  embers 
and  put  on  more  wood  !  The  talk  among  the 
seniors  was  of  poHtics  and  commerce ;  the  young 
fellows  girded  at  one  another  for  success  or  failure 
in  love-affairs  and  game  records.  Madonnas,  with 
their  daughters  strictly  under  charge,  were  wel- 
comed to  postprandial  conversation,  and  whilst 
the  elder  men  entertained  one  another's  wives,  the 
maidens  were  drawn  on  one  side  by  the  young 
gallants.  The  older  ladies  favoured  quiet  games 
at  cards,  but  the  marriageable  girls  preferred  the 
more  suitable  pastime  of  forfeits  for  kisses.  Some- 
times the  curfew  sounded  whilst  all  were  merry  in 
their  cups  or  absorbed  in  love  passages,  and  then 
there  was  general  commotion.  Sometimes,  too, 
of  course,  the  evening's  entertainments  ended  in 
quarrels  and  challenges  to  fight, — the  turbulent 
spirit  of  the  old  Pallanzese  was  never  laid. 

In  summer-time  the  Campidoglio  was  still  the 
rendezvous  for  town  amusement,  but  the  com- 
pany disposed  themselves  on  benches  outside  and 
in  the  street.  The  ladies  of  the  town  in  particular 
were  habituees  of  these  social  gatherings.  Some- 
times their  pique  was  excited  by  the  jokes  and 
gibes  of  mischievous  youths  looking  out  for  pretty 
girls.     There  the  elders  sat  and  sat  till  past  the 


42     LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

bell  of  the  Ave  Maria,  chatting  and  disputing,  with 
stocking,  garment,  or  fancy-work  in  hand.  Quite 
the  most  ancient  dames  dropped  their  rosary  beads 
when  the  gossip  became  too  acrimonious  or  indeU- 
cate  !  The  younger  men  and  maids,  behind  their 
betters'  backs,  strummed  and  hummed  love-ditties 
and  flung  chestnut-cobs  at  one  another  on  the  sly. 
On  fine  evenings  the  rasping  by  a  vioHn  or  guitar 
of  a  dance  measure  made  nimble  toes  move  in 
unison,  and  round  dances  were  seen  on  every  side. 
The  waltz,  however,  was  taboo  in  pubUc,  but 
danced  it  was  no  less,  and  with  other  idylls  made 
life  pass  merrily.  In  September,  when  the  hemp 
was  ingathering,  the  lads  had  a  very  favourite 
pastime.  Pulhng  out  the  strands  of  the  plant  and 
twisting  them  into  a  lengthy  rope,  they  hghted 
one  end  and  trailed  it  blazing  across  the  street, 
compelling  all  whom  they  met  to  leap  well  over. 
Many  good-natured  spiUs  were  the  consequence, 
and  high  jumps  for  the  girls  were  special  features 
of  the  sport ! 

Amid  all  this  licence  and  merriment  some  un- 
wary souls  were  sure  to  transgress  the  rules  of  good 
behaviour,  but  for  such  there  was  in  waiting  the 
worthy  Travaligno,  or  sheriff's  officer.  If  a 
serenader  became  too  noisy  and  too  constant,  or  a 
wine-bibber  forgot  to  check  his  voice  and  guide 
his  steps,   a  dark  cell  awaited  him.     The  next 


"  VERBANO  "  43 

morning  he  was  released,  with  a  paternal  warning, 
a  wiser  and  a  cooler  man.  Carnival,  however, 
was  a  season  of  relaxation  from  legal  obhgations, 
and  then  all  the  world  ran  riot.  At  Pallanza  the 
masquerades  most  in  vogue  were  of  the  nature  of 
satires  on  local  topics  and  mimicry  of  local  mag- 
nates. Sometimes  the  masqueraders  came  to 
blows;  indeed,  in  1792, — when  a  party  from  Intra 
met  a  similar  company  of  Pallanzese,— local  rivalries 
led  to  blows,  and  many  a  ruffian  youth  came  by 
his  death  in  consequence.  The  last  day  of  the 
Carnival  witnessed  scenes  of  indiscriminate  merri- 
ment and  wild  frohc.  Every  man  twisted  his  girl, 
and  others  too,  around  the  ''Albero  delta  Liberia,'' 
The  Tree  of  Liberty, — as  it  was  called,  a  giant 
chestnut  by  the  quay,  and  kisses  were  free  for  the 
taking.  Men  and  maids  who  would  not  join  the 
fun  were  chased  up  steps  and  yards  and  beaten. 
Class  distinction  disappeared  in  Carnival.  The 
patrician  famihes  of  Dognani,  Cavallotti,  Melzi, 
Biffi,  CadoUno,  and  the  rest,  opened  wide  their 
doors  and  welcomed  all  the  world  to  pot  and  pan. 
Fashionable  ladies  displayed  their  graces  in  elegant 
minuetti  and  perigordini, — danced  and  posed  in 
gorgeous  attire, — to  all  who  came  to  view  in  the 
courtyards  and  at  the  portals  of  their  palaces ;  and, 
be  it  said  quite  on  the  sly,  no  good-looking  youth 
went  away  unkissed  ! 


U     LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

Verily  the  light-heartedness  of  most  mortals  is  in 
exact  ratio  to  their  environment.  The  champagne 
atmosphere  of  the  Lakeland,  the  translucency  of 
the  air,  the  beauty  of  the  landscape,  and  the 
generous  warmth  of  the  red-gold  sun,  make  life 
to  be  all  joy  and  beauty,  with  very  little  time  for 
grumbling  and  disquietude.  The  Ught-hearted 
PaUanzese  called  their  place  of  public  revelry 
"  Cuccagna  " — ^Land  of  DeHghts.  It  was  their 
Paradise,  and  they  were  well  content.  Happy, 
playful  Pallanzaese  ! 

II. 

Arena  is  the  base-rock  of  the  romance  of  Lago 
Maggiore.  She  is  the  leaping-off  spot,  so  to  speak, 
for  all  who  would  know  the  story  of  "  Verbano." 
With  lofty  Angera  opposite,  she  is  the  portal,  too, 
through  which  aU  the  "  Lords  and  Ladies  of  the 
Lake  "  have  come  and  gone.  Before  exploring 
these  two  fortressed  towns  on  the  way  from  Milan 
to  the  lake,  we  pass  Somma  Lombardo,  on  the 
right  bank  of  the  Ticino,  with  its  enormous  and 
venerable  cypress  nearly  one  hundred  feet  in  height 
— ^perhaps  the  loftiest  tree  in  Europe.  It  has  wit- 
nessed many  stirring  events,  and  has  cast  its 
shadow  over  many  a  deed  of  love  and  war.  Cas- 
tello  Visconti,  fifteen  miles  from  Arena,  was  built 
in  1448  by  the  brothers  Francesco  and  Guide  Vis- 


"  VERBANO  "  45 

conti.  The  workmen  they  employed  were  mem- 
bers of  a  bodyguard  of  twenty  adherents  who  were 
as  well  able  to  give  a  good  account  of  themselves 
in  defence  of  their  masters  as  they  were  to  labour 
for  them  in  peaceful  projects.  Francesco,  at  the 
end  of  the  century,  laid  out  the  spacious  gardens 
which  are  still  the  glory  of  the  estate.  The  old 
church  of  Sant'  Agnese  has  a  fresco  record  of  the 
marriage  of  Ermo  Visconti  and  Maria  Bianca 
Scapardona.  Fourteen  years  of  happy  wedded 
life  were  vouchsafed  this  notable  couple — a  span 
far  longer  than  the  wont  in  those  times  of  intrigue 
and  frenzy.  Richly  dowered  by  her  consort,  she, 
however,  promptly  forgot  his  love,  and  within  a 
year  of  Ermo's  death  wantonly  married  Count  de 
Challant,  a  Savoyard  gallant,  who  took  her  off  to 
his  castle  in  the  Val  d'  Avola,  far  from  her  friends 
and  home.  The  freedom  to  which  Ermo  Visconti 
had  accustomed  her  was  curtailed,  and  de  Challant 
guarded  his  fascinating  spouse  so  closely  that  she 
was  httle  better  than  prisoner  at  his  will.  This 
life  of  captivity  was  not  a  bit  to  the  liking  of  the 
Countess,  and  within  a  year  she  fled  to  Pavia, 
where  were  many  old  friends,  and  where  she  had 
inherited  a  considerable  property.  Among  her 
intimates  were  Ardizzione  Valperga  di  Masimo, 
Pietro  Cardona,  and  Count  Roberto  Sansovino. 
Not  tiring  of  married  hfe,  although  it  had  brought 


46     LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

many  sorrows  as  well  as  joys,  the  impressionable 
fugitive  was  sought  once  more  in  marriage  by 
Valperga,  whilst  Cardona  undertook  to  make 
things  agreeable  with  de  ChaUant.  Never  was 
there  a  worse  bargain  struck,  for  bravi  in  de  Chal- 
lant's  pay  seized  the  weU-meaning  go-between, 
and  instead  of  despatching  him  with  their  knives, 
— as  they  were  pledged  to  do, — they  popped  the 
captive  into  guard  to  await  their  patron's  torture- 
pleasure.  Cardona  refused  to  disclose  the  where- 
abouts of  the  errant  couple,  and  for  his  faithfulness 
to  his  friend  he  lost  his  life,  for  de  Challant  con- 
veyed him  to  Milan,  and  there  had  him  beheaded. 
What  happened  to  Bianca  and  her  husband 
number  three,  chroniclers  have  failed  to  record. 
Perhaps  their  course  of  true  love  was  rosy  ;  had  it 
been  thorny,  probably  we  should  not  have  lacked 
information  ! 

Not  very  far  away  from  Castello  Visconti,  and 
west  of  Milan,  was  another  Visconti  mansion, — the 
Castello  di  Benguardo, — ^built  by  FiUppo  Maria 
Visconti,  near  Abbiategrosso,  where  the  Duke 
enclosed  a  deer-park  and  erected  a  garden- 
pavilion  for  the  entertainment  of  his  mistress, 
Agnese  del  Majne,  and  there  he  spent  much  of 
his  time  divided  between  devotions  to  St.  Hubert 
and  to  "  St.  "  Cupid.  It  was  ever  so  among 
"  Lords  and  Ladies."    All  field-sports  were  Love's 


"  VERBANO  "  47 

favourite  opportunities  !  Francesco  Sforza  rather 
brusquely  turned  out  the  charmer  Agnese,  and 
gave  the  castle  to  Matteo  Bolognini,  who  passed 
it  on  to  the  family  of  his  wife,  the  Tolontini.  The 
Leyraldi  bought  it  in  1490,  and  then  the  Tolontini 
reacquired  it  in  1648.  Many  such  vicissitudes  fell 
to  the  lot  of  lordly  pleasaunces  in  those  times  of 
change  and  barter.  The  Melzi  family  had  among 
their  many  estates  a  villa  at  Somma  Lombardo. 
It  had  been  originally  a  religious  house  of  Fran- 
ciscan friars,  founded  by  Francesco  Maria  Visconti, 
who  on  his  deathbed  made  a  bequest  of  twelve 
hundred  scudi  "  for  the  good  of  his  soul."  One 
hundred  years  later  the  cloister  and  the  chapel 
were  destroyed,  and  the  Religious  dispersed, 
and  then  Giuseppe  Giusti  bought  the  estate  on 
behalf  of  the  Melzi  d'  Eril  family.  Succeeding 
generations  of  lordly  owners  were  apparently  both 
secular  and  given  up  to  frivolities,  and  regular 
and  devoted  to  Church  functions.  Well,  in  life 
the  evil  and  the  good  are  blended  and  inter- 
changeable,— and  thus  this  sublunary  existence 
is  a  pageantry  of  humour  and  pathos,  and  inter- 
esting beyond  the  dreams  and  realms  of  trashy 
fiction. 

We  must  not,  however,  suffer  ourselves  to  par- 
ticipate in  any  more  diversions  by  the  way,  for 
Arona  and  Angera  have  opened  their  gates  to 

4 


48     LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

admit  us  to  their  joint  and  severed  stories.  The 
former  is  the  most  ancient  township  on  Lake 
Maggiore.  Its  name  is  Roman,  but  its  fame 
Dominican.  Then  came  the  warring  Visconti  and 
Duke  Gian  Galeazzo  II. ;  both  destroyed  and  built 
anew  the  castle.  In  1439  the  Borromei  became 
possessed  of  Arona,  its  castle  and  its  port,  and  bore 
bravely  and  judicially  their  title  of  Counts  of 
Arona.  The  most  famous  scion  of  that  great 
family  was  bom  in  one  of  the  towers.  The  room 
was  caUed  the  "  Chamber  of  the  Four  Lakes,"  for 
thence  might  be  discerned  Maggiore,  Monati, 
Comabbio,  and  Varese.  Carlo  Borromeo  was  born 
in  1538 — he  who  became  the  saintly  and  courageous 
Archbishop  of  Milan.  His  story  is  too  weU  known 
to  require  extended  notice  here.  He  is  one  of  the 
heroes  of  the  Church  at  large, — the  Renaissance 
patron  of  Milan.  Of  the  Castle  of  Arona  only  ruins 
covered  by  evergreen  ivy  now  remain, — ^but  the 
memory  of  the  great  Cardinal  lives  in  what  is 
caUed  "  the  most  eloquent  and  remarkable  work 
in  Italy.  The  world  of  Christianity  could  not 
wish  for  a  nobler  memorial  of  perfect  charity  than 
the  splendid  statue  of  Saint  Carlo  above  Arona." 
Erected  in  1624, — along  with  two  fine  buildings, — a 
seminary  for  priests,  with  a  notable  Hbrary  of  rare 
manuscripts  and  books,  and  a  church  where 
precious  reUcs  of  the  Saint  are  treasured — a  cast 


•  •  •  c  •  *  • 

•••• 

,  ♦•       •        • 

•  •       •«.« 


"  VERBANO  "  49 

of  his  head  in  wax,  his  pocket-handkerchief,  and 
pastoral  cross  in  iron,  not  of  precious  metal.  His 
primatial  cross  of  rare  goldsmith's  work  and 
precious  gems  he  sold  for  the  relief  of  the  plague- 
stricken  people  of  Milan. 

One  of  the  most  notable  works  of  the  great 
Cardinal  was  the  visitation  of  all  the  monasteries 
and  convents  of  Lombardy  immediately  after  the 
Council  of  Trent.  He  found  faith,  practice,  and 
morals  subverted,  and  licence,  lust,  and  extrava- 
gance unchecked.  Among  the  articles  of  the  Visita- 
tion were : — ''  Each  cell  shall  have  a  simple  crucifix 
of  wood,  an  "  Agnus  Dei^^^  not  of  precious  metal, 
one  devotional  picture,  a  few  religious  books  simply 
bound,  a  table  bare  of  cloth,  a  wooden  bedstead 
and  a  hard  mattress,  a  Prie-Dieu  without  adorn- 
ment, no  carpet  on  the  floor,  no  utensils  for 
drinking,  eating,  or  writing.  .  .  .  Nuns  are  not 
allowed  to  keep  pet  animals,  except  poultry  for 
their  eggs  ;  they  are  forbidden  the  use  of  mirrors, 
ecents,  and  essences, — and  each  must  occupy  her 
cell  alone.  ..." 

These  strict  but  salutary  regulations  were  not 
held  in  estimation  long,  for  Giorgio  Pallavicini,  at 
the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century,  a  clever  satirist, 
records  that  "  sumptuous  beds  with  embroidered 
window-hangings,  and  thick  expensive  carpets, 
were  commonly  in  use,  and  the  cells  were  adorned 


50     LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

with  silver  vases  filled  with  flowers  or  with  hang- 
ing lamps  of  crystal  and  sensuous  pictures  of 
'  Venus,'  '  Satyrs/  and  other  irreligious  fads  and 
fancies." 

Canonized  in  1610,  San  Carlo  Borromeo  speedily 
vindicated  his  right  to  saintship  in  miracles  wrought 
by  his  efficacy.  One,  known  to  all  the  lakeside 
dwellers  and  throughout  Lombardy,  had  imme- 
diate attestation.  On  the  evening  of  December  17, 
1630,  the  house  of  Signore  Giovanni  Battista 
Cadolino  at  Pallanza  was  the  scene  of  a  notable 
visitation.  A  small  picture  hanging  in  the  family 
room  representing  the  Saint  with  hands  joined 
together,  kneehng  before  a  crucifix,  suddenly 
exuded  a  copious  shower  of  tears !  The  first 
member  of  the  assembled  family, — they  were 
gathered  for  their  midday  meal, — who  observed 
the  phenomenon  was  the  youngest  daughter  of 
the  house,  Maria  EHzabetta.  Jumping  up  sud- 
denly, she  cried  aloud,  "  Uno  Miracolo ./"  and, 
taking  down  the  picture  from  the  wall,  she  showed 
it  to  each  in  turn,  the  while  showers  of  water  ran 
over  her  hands  to  the  ground.  Among  the 
assembled  children  and  guests  were  her  brother 
Bernardino,  her  sister  Marta,  and  her  Aunt 
Madonna  Bernardina  di  Magistrio,  her  father's 
sister.  All  fell  upon  their  knees  and  prayed  to 
San  Carlo  for  instruction  what  to  do.     A  strange 


"  VERBANO  "  61 

voice,  coming  whence  they  knew  not,  but  at  a 
distance,  whispered,  ^^  Alia  Cappuccini  /"  whose 
monastery  adjoined  the  parish  church  of  San 
Leonardo.  Young  Bernardino,  reverently  wrap- 
ping a  silk  scarf  of  his  mother's  around  the  weep- 
ing picture,  bore  it  reverently,  followed  by  his 
parents  and  the  rest  of  the  family  and  their 
domestics,  to  the  monastery.  The  Father  Su- 
perior at  once  recognized  this  astounding  circum- 
stance as  an  interposition  of  San  Carlo  in  answer 
to  devout  prayers  on  behalf  of  the  plague-stricken 
citizens  of  the  town.  AssembHng  his  chapter  and 
the  rehgious  communities,  a  peregrination  of  the 
town  and  suburbs  was  conducted,  he  himself 
carrying  the  still  dripping  picture  beneath  the 
great  processional  canopy.  Stations  were  made 
before  every  house  marked  with  the  dreaded  black 
cross,  prayers  were  said,  and  hymns  were  sung, 
and  the  fragrance  of  sweet  incense  was  wafted 
over  the  beds  of  the  sufferers.  Immediate  relief 
was  experienced,  and  not  only  such  notable  people 
as  Signore  MassimiHano  Viani,  Signora  Costanza 
Innocenti,  and  Madonna  Isabella,  wife  of  Tommaso 
CadoHno,  were  cured,  but  the  plague  was  stayed 
in  the  most  densely  populated  and  most  squalid 
quarters  of  the  town.  A  festa  was  appointed,  and 
communications  were  addressed  to  Rome.  The 
Sacred  Congregation  approving  the  testimony  of 


52     LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

the  Cadolino  family  and  the  witness  of  the  clergy, 
ordered  the  erection  of  a  chapel  in  connection  with 
the  parish  church  for  the  worthy  conservation  of 
the  miraculous  picture,  and  imposed  upon  the 
family  the  honourable  task  of  maintaining  the 
building  and  the  altar  in  perpetuity.  The  devout 
citizens  and  country-folk  flocked  in  thousands  to 
render  homage  to  their  new  treasure,  praying 
humbly  and  gratefuUy  to  San  Carlo  Borromeo, 
and  also  to  Saints  Maximinio,  IppoUto,  and  Boni- 
fazio,  whose  bones  had  been  buried  beneath  their 
altars  centuries  before. 

San  Carlo  Borromeo  was  not  the  only  Saint  who 
came  to  the  aid  of  plague-stricken  towns  upon 
Lake  Maggiore.  In  the  year  1344  a  venerable 
priest  lived  as  a  recluse  on  one  of  the  spurs  of 
Sasso  Ballaro,  now  called  Santa  Caterina  del  Sasso, 
from  the  simple  sanctuary  erected  where  the  good 
hermit  prayed  and  ruled.  His  name  was  Alberto 
Besozzo  of  Arolo,  belonging  to  the  rich  and  noble 
family  of  that  name  in  Milan.  He  had  been  for 
years  busy  smuggling  goods  and  robbing  folks  by 
excessive  usury.  One  day  he  was  returning  from 
the  market  of  Lesa,  some  miles  down  the  lake,  in 
a  small  open  boat,  when  a  fierce  tempest  tossed  the 
water  into  deadly  whirlpools.  The  frail  barque 
was  wrecked  upon  a  sunken  rock,  and  Besozzo, 
the  only  survivor,  found  refuge  on  a  small  island 


"  VERBANO  "  63 

far  from  land.  He  took  this  as  an  intimation  that 
Heaven's  will  required  him  to  renounce  his  evil 
ways,  turn  penitent,  and  remain  where  he  had 
been  cast.  Before  settUng  on  his  island,  he  re- 
turned home,  sold  all  his  property,  and  distributed 
the  proceeds  among  the  poor.  Very  soon  the 
holy  man's  fame  for  sanctity  reached  the  farthest 
hmits  of  the  lake,  and  penitents  thronged  his  cell 
for  spiritual  counsel.  For  ten  years  he  remained 
in  his  narrow  hermitage,  and  then,  owing  to  the 
influx  of  visitors,  he  removed  to  an  inaccessible 
peak  of  the  mountains,  and  there  spent  his  time 
in  prayer,  interceding  especially  for  the  sick  and 
dying  of  plague  and  famine.  His  prayers  were  so 
efficacious,  and  withal  so  profitable  in  a  worldly 
sense,  that  with  the  offerings  of  the  faithful  he 
built  a  Httle  chapel  near  his  mountain  ceU,  and 
dedicated  it  to  Santa  Caterina  di  Alessandria,  the 
special  intercessor  with  Heaven  for  such  as  were 
victims  to  pestilence.  On  the  day  of  dedication, 
and  once  every  year  upon  the  anniversary,  re- 
hgious  processions  scaled  the  lofty  mountain  to 
pay  honour  to  the  holy  man  and  to  ask  his  inter- 
cession with  St.  Catherine.  This  procession, 
though  curtailed  in  numbers  and  less  enthusiastic 
than  at  first,  still  visits  the  mountain  sanctuary 
year  by  year.  Blessed  Alberto  Besozzo  died  in 
1385,  passing,  as  pious  souls  said,  "  in  mano  degV 


64     LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

AngioUy  His  epitaph  may  be  read  in  the  moun- 
tain chapel : — 

"  Qui  giace  il  penitento  grand'  Alberto, 
Romito  di  tal  merto 
Che  vivendo  godena  qua  qui  in  terra 
Era  gl'  Angioli  quel  ben,  che'  V  ciel  riserva 
Vive,  ma  dormira  sino,  che'  V  sole 
Cingera  questa 

E  poi  desto,  fra  quelle  puro  forme 
Del  ciel  volgera  FOrme." 

Under  the  wooden  roof  of  the  gateway  of  the 
God's  acre  are  frescoed  scenes  from  the  "  Dance 
of  Death,"  wherein  the  personages  are  portraits 
of  well-known  people  of  the  lake,  and  the  back- 
grounds of  the  pictures  reproduce  the  various 
towns. 

The  story  of  Angera  is  quickly  told.  Its  castle 
has  been  a  bone  of  contention  hard  and  sore. 
In  the  thirteenth  century  the  Torriani  were  its 
overlords,  but  that  bellicose  Archbishop,  Ottone 
Visconti,  dispossessed  them  in  1276.  Giovanni 
Maria  Visconti  I.  puUed  the  castle  down  in  1350, 
and, — Avith  the  like  incontinence,  that  Duke  Gian 
Galeazzo  II.  displayed  at  Arona, — rebuilt  it  imme- 
diately. There  ought  to  have  been  a  method  in  this 
madness,  but  nobody  has  yet  discerned  it.  One 
hundred  years  passed,  and  witnessed  many  notable 
events  and  entertainments  within  those  frescoed 
walls,  and  then,  upon  the  passing  of  the  Visconti, 


"  VERBANO  "  66 

the  ambitious  Borromei  obtained  the  stronghold. 
Vitaliano  Borromeo  assumed  the  rank  of  Count ; 
the  Rocea  d'  Angera  is  theirs  to-day.  With  rare 
discernment  and  munificence  the  ancient  appear- 
ance of  the  castle  and  its  confines  has  been  retained, 
— antique  furniture  and  ancient  curios  adorn  the 
rooms,  and  frescoes  and  textile  hangings  present 
scenes  of  conflict  between  the  rival  Torriani  and 
Visconti.  The  windows  to  the  west  give  upon 
the  lake,  and  in  particular  upon  the  islet  of  San 
Giovanni,  where  a  holy  deacon  in  early  Christian 
days,  Arialdo,  was  done  to  death  by  the  heathen 
Ohva  Valvassori,  "  The  Scourge  of  Angera." 
Among  the  "  Lords  and  Ladies  of  the  Lake  "  who 
have  passed  in  and  out  of  those  massive  gateways 
was  Queen  Isabella  of  Spain,  one  of  the  ill-fated 
beauties  of  the  Milanese  Court.  By  the  chief 
portal  is  a  stone  incised : — "  Camillus  lo :  Baptista, 
— Hon  :  Romei,^^  and  here  we  have  the  derivation 
of  the  patronymic  Borromeo. 

Taking  our  way  somewhat  erratically  before 
giving  ourselves  away  to  the  alfresco  delights  of 
the  Borromean  Islands,  we  may  pass  a  pleasant 
time  by  the  waters  of  two  minor  lakes  of  Lombardy, 
strictly  of  Savoy  ;  and  very  beautiful  they  are — 
Mergozzo  and  Orta.  The  former  has,  alas  !  lost 
much  of  its  beauty  and  renown  on  account  of  the 
quarries  and  lime-pits  which  have  made  its  banks 


56     LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

utilitarian  feeders  of  the  commerce  of  Lombardy 
and  Piedmont.  What  repute  it  had  was  as  the 
backwater  retreat  of  Maggiore  smugglers,  for 
originally  Mergozzo  was  a  bay  of  its  greater  sister. 
Orta, — sometimes  called  ''  Lago  Cusio,"  on  the 
other  hand,  has  preserved  its  ideal  beauty  and 
seclusion.  It  reposes  in  a  deUcious  basin  bordered 
by  verdant  hills,  a  land  of  fruit  and  flowers,  a 
scene  of  pathos  and  romance.  In  addition  to 
natural  and  historic  interest,  the  banks  of  the  lake 
are  busy  with  the  works  of  clever  craftsmen — 
wood-carvers,  metal-workers,  and  paper-makers. 
Being  secluded  from  the  general  run  of  business, 
the  workpeople,  as  weU  as  their  masters,  are  noted 
for  their  scientific  study  of  industrial  questions 
and  problems,  the  outcome  of  their  studies  being 
invention  and  adaptation,  difficult  to  reahze  in 
crowded  cities  and  in  busy  townships.  Omegna, 
Orta,  and  San  Maurigio  are  the  chief  places  on 
the  lake.  The  first  and  last  are  almost  entirely 
operative  and  around  Orta,  —  Orta-Novarese, 
as  it  is  called  by  many, — gathers  the  story  of  the 
lake. 

The  romance  of  Lake  Orta  starts  historically 
in  the  fourth  century,  upon  the  picturesque  islet 
of  San  GiuHo,  opposite  the  town.  The  ancient 
bastion  of  San  Giulio  was  founded  by  a  Greek 
missionary  in  379,  who  wandered  thus  far  in  search 


o 

N  S 

^3  « 

w    o  ;s 

u     «  fe 

;?;     w  ^ 

<      M  o 

-     o  I 

h    !i5  « 

CO       M  o 

i  I 


•  •       • 


•       •• 


-  VERBANO  "  57 

of  heathen  converts.  He  brought  with  him 
precious  rehcs,  among  them  a  small  portion  of  the 
Cross  of  Calvary,  which,  at  Milan,  he  had  caused 
to  be  inserted  in  the  apex  of  his  long-stemmed 
metal  cross,  from  which  he  flew  the  narrow 
banneret  of  the  Agnus  Dei,  The  saintly  man 
placed  in  the  crypt  of  his  primitive  House  of  God 
the  vertebrae  of  a  deadly  dragon,  which  he  slew, 
— after  the  pattern  of  other  saints, — in  a  cavern's 
mouth  on  Monte  Mottarone.  Centuries  came  and 
centuries  went,  until  Giullia,  the  amazon  wife  of 
King  Berengario,  of  Lombardy,  took  refuge,  in 
her  husband's  absence  in  Southern  Italy,  where 
Otto,  ;afterwards  the  first  of  her  hne  of  Emperors, 
sought,  first  to  woo  and  then  to  slay  her,  and 
usurp  the  Lombard  throne.  She  threw  up  hasty 
ramparts  on  the  island,  and  subsequently  built 
a  stronghold,  remains  of  which  are  still  to  be  seen, 
and  they  are  still  called  "ifwn  delta  Regina,^' 

Otto  made  Lagna,  across  the  lake,  his  head- 
quarters, and  laid  siege  to  the  fugitive  Queen,  who, 
after  two  months'  stout  defence,  was  compelled 
to  surrender  herseU  and  her  castle  to  the  usurper. 
It  appears  Otto  made  a  vow  that  if  he  should 
succeed  in  capturing  Giullia,  he  would  render  up 
the  island  as  an  offering  to  God,  and  he  bestowed 
it  upon  the  Bishops  of  Novara — hence  its  current 
name.     A  curious  story  is  told  about  the  siege. 


58     LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

A  child  was  born,  it  was  said,  of  GiuUia,  whom  she 
name  Gughelmo,  and  dedicated  him  to  the  Church. 
The  lad  Hved,  became  a  priest  and  the  Apostle 
of  Burgundy,  and  dying  in  1031,  left  splendid 
monastic  foundations  at  Orta  and  at  Dijon. 
A  very  beautiful  villa  now  adorns  the  island  of 
Orta,  built  by  Signore  Ottavio  Pio,  after  the 
patterns  of  the  Moorish  Palaces  of  Ziza,  and  Cuba 
near  Palermo. 

III. 

Baveno,  Stresa  and  Pallanza  dance  merry 
measures  with  the  islands  Madre,  Superiore,  and 
Bella — glittering  sirens  in  their  cerulean  gold- 
flashed  bay,  and  reflecting  in  the  crystal  mirror 
of  its  waters  the  snowfields  of  Monte  Rosa  and  her 
afterglow.  Mingling  with  the  decoying  vocal 
echoes  of  the  fabled  "Ladies  of  the  Caves"  and 
Shores  are  human  sonnets  of  the  Religious,  of  the 
fisherfolk,  and  of  nobles  proud  and  fair.  As  the 
wavelets  lap  marble  steps,  or  pitter-patter  on 
rolUng  strand-stones,  their  titillations  keep  time 
with  ghostly  footsteps  of  the  pageant  figures  of 
the  past. 

To  name  the  Borromean  Islands  is  to  arrest  the 
ear  and  start  the  mind  ofl  in  an  ethereal  dream. 
Not  even  the  Biblical  Paradise  had  anything  half 
so  fair ;  indeed,  the  eye  shares  with  the  heart  the 


"  VERBANO  "  59 

impressiveness  of  illimitable  delights.  In  the 
gay  cotillion  danced  by  nymph  and  form,  by 
mermaid  and  merman,  Baveno  gives  her  hand 
to  the  picturesque  fishermen,  Stresa  to  the  palace 
courtiers,  and  Pallanza  to  the  merry  monks.  The 
well-matched  couples  gyrate  on  shore  or  dive  to 
depths  profound,  and  we  who  watch  and  wait  have 
as  much  as  we  can  do  to  take  our  cue  and  join  in 
the  merriment.  If  we  are  called  upon  to  give  the 
award  of  Paris  to  the  fairest  of  these  islets,  we  have 
a  problem  hard  to  solve.  Each  has  a  special 
charm,  equal,  if  not  better,  than  the  rest. 

Stresa  has  always  been  an  aristocratic  place 
ever  since  the  lordly  Visconti  picnicked  there  in 
the  long  ago.  The  Castello,  now  a  ruin,  of  course, 
dates  from  the  eleventh  century,  and  now  we  have 
the  twenty-first  not  very  far  ahead.  A  thousand 
years  are  a  goodish  span  for  any  locaUty  to  keep 
up  its  reputation,  but  Stresa  to-day  is  still  the 
resort  of  "  Lords  and  Ladies  of  the  Lake."  She  is 
a  congeries  of  villas  and  gardens  as  full  of  gay 
romance  as  of  sweet  flowers.  The  Royal  House 
of  Savoy, — sovereigns  of  "  Italia  Unificata,^^  year 
in,  year  out,  here  enjoy  their  villeggiatura.  At  the 
Villa  Ducale  the  Queen-Mother,  beloved  Mar- 
gherita,  recuperates  after  strenuous  exercises 
around  Alpine  heights  ;  and  King  Vittorio  Em- 
manuel comes  over  from  Racciongi,  when  he  is 


60     LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

tired  of  sport  and  study,  to  visit  the  home  of  his 
grandparents  for  rest  and  relaxation. 

Stresa's  partner  in  the  fantastic  dance  of  shore 
and  isle  is  Isola  Bella ;  they  are  parted  only  by  a 
very  narrow  strip  of  water.  Any  white-clad  hand- 
some young  boatman  wiU  ferry  us  across  and 
introduce  us  to  one  of  the  liveried  custodi,  who 
can  teU  us  what  has  been  told  to  him  about  "  the 
beautiful  Eliza  " — Eliza  bella — whose  name  the 
island  bears.  It  was  Giangiacomo  Borromeo,  the 
brother  of  Count  Vitaliano,  who,  visiting  friends 
at  Stresa,  rowed  over  to  the  nearest  island  of  the 
group,  then  occupied  by  fishermen's  crazy  hovels 
and  a  little  chapel  very  much  out  of  repair.  He 
at  once  perceived  that  very  much  might  be  made 
out  of  the  islet,  so  secure  from  aUen  feet ;  indeed, 
it  was  just  the  spot  he  had  been  hunting  for.  The 
Signore  was,  as  all  Lombardians  were,  and  all 
Italians  are  to-day,  a  very  amorous  fellow,  and 
he  had  a  youthful  mistress, — a  child  of  Milan, — 
whom  he  had  decoyed  from  home.  A  jealous  wife 
and  spying  friends  surrounded  the  Haison  with 
difficulties  ;  besides,  the  girl  was  not  of  gentle 
birth,  although  pure  and  lovely  as  the  hly.  He 
dreamed  a  dream  of  a  beauty-spot  wherein  to  place 
his  sweetheart,  and  reaUzed  his  vision  by  the 
erection  of  a  Httle  villa  upon  the  islet  and  by  the 
dismissal  of  the  few  inhabitants.     In  short,  the 


"  VERBANO  "  61 

Signore  created  an  Elysium  where  he  disposed  the 
lovely  Eliza  and  surrounded  her  with  nothing  but 
things  of  beauty  and  of  joy.  Certainly  she  was  a 
prisoner,  but  she  had  nothing  to  do  but  to  minister 
to  her  lover  and  translate  his  wishes  into  facts. 
Alas  for  the  happiness  of  things  terrestrial,  the 
seraphic  dream  vanished  in  cold  dust  and  air,  for 
the  beauteous  castellana  died,  from  "  the  excess 
of  love," — so  was  it  stated, — and  after  Signore 
Giangiacomo  had  buried  her  in  the  little  chapel 
patch,  he  left  his  enchanted  island  and  never  saw 
it  more. 

Then,  in  1632,  came  VitaUano,  the  lordly  brother 
of  our  hero,  and  cleared  the  ground  once  more. 
Giangiacomo's  casino  was  replaced  by  a  very  much 
more  beautiful  garden  of  delights,  and  he  set  to 
work  to  build  a  palace  which  should  have  no  rival 
in  Lombardy.  He  cared  not  one  whit  for  the 
Elisa  dedication,  but  inasmuch  as  the  name  of  his 
Countess  was  Isabella, — Isabella  d'  Adda, — the 
name  of  the  island  remained  unchanged — Isola 
Isabella  —  Isola  Bella,  No  fairer  spot  upon  this 
wide  earth  can  be  found  than  Isola  Bella  di  Lago 
Maggiore.  The  palace, — taken  possession  of  in  1671 
by  the  magnificent  Count  and  Countess, — was  never 
reaUy  completed,  but  its  rooms  are  filled  with 
choicest  works  of  art  and  fashionable  foibles.  The 
gardens  are  unrivalled.     The  terrace  grottoes  echo 


62      LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

softly,  if  one  listens  patiently,  the  tales  of  bygone 
days,  and  repeat  bashfully  the  passages  of  love 
which  they  have  concealed.  Sitting  there  beneath 
magnolias,  camellias,  and  oleanders,  with  the 
aromatic  perfumes  of  thousands  of  exotics,  one 
requires  the  use  of  a  meagre  imagination  only  to 
people  those  alcoves  and  parterres  with  "  Lords 
and  Ladies  of  the  Lake  "  who  have  clanked  gilded 
swords  up  and  down  the  marble  steps  or  swept  the 
borders  and  greensward  with  trailing  skirts  of  silk 
and  velvet.  Those  orange-trees  have  been  robbed 
of  their  delicate  blossom  to  crown  Borromean 
ladies  ;  those  laurels  have  given  verdant  leaves  for 
wreaths  of  champions  in  the  games  of  love.  The 
tragedies  of  life  are  substantiated  in  Isola  Bella,  for, 
among  the  fair  women  who  have  been  loved, 
divorced,  and  evil-treated,  none  receive  greater 
commiseration  than  Josephine  Beauharnais,  the 
hapless  Empress  Josephine.  To  the  Isola  fled  the 
Cavaliere  Giovanni  Tempesta  for  sanctuary,  when 
incontinently  he  had  murdered  his  worthy  wife  in 
order  to  marry  a  more  handsome  woman — a 
lady  of  the  Borromei. 

Buonaparte,  too,  frequented  the  Borromean 
Palace,  and  many  a  time  he  sought  repose  and 
refreshment  amid  the  amenities  of  the  gardens. 
In  the  stem  of  a  giant  oleander, — whose  flower  was 
his  favourite, — he  cut  on  one  occasion  his  initials 


"  VERBANO  "  63 

and  the  word  ''  battaglia,'^    It  was  just  before  the 
decisive  victory  of  Marengo. 

Isola    Superiore, — better    known,   perhaps,   as 
Isola    de'    Pescatori, — has    quite    another    story. 
It  is  approached  from  Baveno,  the  fishing-town 
par  excellence  of  the  lake.     Their  interests  are  in 
common,    and    they    are    Hnked    in    imagery    of 
romance,  Hke  loving  partners  in  the  glorious  dance 
of  life.     Fishing-boats  and  fishing-nets  encumber 
beach    and    harbour.     No    more    picturesque    or 
courteous  people  dwell  along  the  lake ;  they  are 
Nature's  gentlefolk,  ever  ready  to  show  kindness 
to  strangers  and  to  support  their  kith  and  kin. 
Perhaps  they  number  three  hundred  souls  all  told, 
and  are  reckoned  citizens  of  Chignole  on  the  main- 
land.    At  eventide,  when  the  fishermen  race  home 
for  food  and  amusement  and  rest,  you  will  hear 
such  vocal  music  as  will  delight  your  ears  and  cheer 
your  hearts.     The  baritone  and  tenor  of  the  bar- 
carole, borne  by  the  breeze  and  ripples,  blends  in 
dehcious  cadence  with  the  women's  contralto  and 
soprano  on  the  beach.     The  songs  are  Venetian  in 
character,  and  tell  in  tuneful  numbers  of  love  and 
death,  and  hope  and  despair,  with  staccato  praise 
of  vaHant  deeds  of  yore.     This  island  is  a  small 
RepubUc,  and  owns  no  obedience  to  the  lordly 
Borromei,  as  do  her  sisters  twain. 

Baveno, — one  of  the  sweetest  spots  on  earth, — 

5 


64     LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

gets  its  name  from  bavero,  the  embroidered  cape  of  a 
brocaded  cloak — a  very  apt  derivation,  for  within 
her  boundaries  are  gathered  quite  a  dozen  villages, 
some  on  the  lake,  some  off.  No  beetling  cliffs  or 
crumbling  castle  walls  frown  down  upon  the  sunny- 
plain.  Baveno,  like  her  rival  Stresa  is  a  parterre 
of  villas  and  villa  gardens.  The  finest,  and  for 
English-speaking  visitors  the  most  interesting,  is 
Villa  Clara,  stiU  so  called  by  habituees,  but  renamed 
within  the  last  decade  Villa  Bianca  Scala.  Built 
in  1872  by  Mr.  Charles  Henfrey,  after  designs  of 
English  architects,  its  gables  and  red  bricks  give 
it  quite  a  British  character.  The  grounds,  too, 
are  triumphs  of  English  landscape  gardening,  and 
the  beautiful  English  church  within  the  gates  is 
Anglican  outside  and  in.  Good  Queen  Victoria 
sojourned  here  in  1875,  and  added  her  august 
name,  with  the  names  of  British  Royal  Princesses 
— Louise  and  Beatrice — to  the  ''  Libro  d'Oro^'  of 
the  "  Lords  and  Ladies  of  the  Lakes."  No  more 
gentle,  charming  hostess  could  be  imagined  than 
Mrs.  Henfrey.  Her  gardens  were  open  every  day 
to  British  and  American  visitors,  and  when  she, 
from  her  boudoir  window,  noted  the  presence  of 
her  country  men  and  women  in  the  grounds,  she 
ased  to  sally  forth,  dressed  in  floating  white  muslin 
and  a  big  garden  hat  of  straw,  and  welcome  her 
visitors  cordially. 


(3       a, 

O  533 


1-3 
U 

< 


•  •  e 


"  VERBANO  "  65 

"  Come  in  and  look  at  my  pretty  things,  and 
have  some  tea."  A  deprecatory  answer  always 
called  forth  a  charming  protest,  "  But  you  must ; 
now  come  along  with  me  1"  and,  suiting  her  action 
to  her  words,  she  Hnked  her  arm  in  that  of  one 
of  the  ladies,  and  bore  the  party  o£E  to  do  her 
gracious  will. 

"  You  admire  my  flowers,  I  know.  See,  my 
gardener  shall  cut  you  each  a  bouquet,  whilst  you 
chat  with  me  and  tell  me  your  news.  My  Hfe  is 
somewhat  of  a  solitary  one,  you  know — my  hus- 
band is  much  away — and  there  are  no  Enghsh 
residents  in  Baveno.  Your  presence  is  a  perfect  god- 
send, and  I  thank  you  greatly  for  your  company." 

She  was  a  lovely  young  woman  in  those  days, 
and  as  good  as  she  was  comely ;  but  money,  and 
the  will  to  spend  it  discreetly  and  helpfully  for  the 
benefit  of  others,  could  not  avert  the  crushing  grief 
that  came  to  the  lady  of  the  Villa — called  after  her 
own  name  in  loving  compUment  by  her  fond  hus- 
band. In  1890  Mr.  Henfrey  died.  The  blank  was 
more  than  his  disconsolate  widow  could  endure. 
She  left  Baveno,  weeping  bitterly,  and  no  one 
passed  those  bolted  gates  for  eight  long  years.  In 
1898  Villa  Clara  was  in  the  market,  and  the  pur- 
chaser was  Signora  Maria  Scala  Bianca,  who 
changed  the  name  and  the  regime.  Queen  Vic- 
toria's trees^ — a  cedar  and  a  cypress — still  flourish 


66     LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

in  the  grounds  where  Her  Majesty  planted  them. 
It  was  at  ViUa  Clara  that  she  first  indulged  in 
what  in  after-life  became  a  Royal  custom — alfresco 
refreshments.  The  Queen  loved  to  pitch  her  tea- 
kettle under  some  shady  tree  in  the  grounds  or 
beyond  upon  the  slopes  of  Monte  Mottarone,  and 
invite  specially  honoured  guests  to  partake  along 
with  her  suite. 

Our  fanciful  set-to-partners  shows  PaUanza  and 
Isola  Madre  hands-across  the  lake,  but  the  com- 
radeship is  in  danger  of  disaster  through  the  inter- 
vention of  the  smallest  islet  of  them  aU — San 
Giovanni.  How  Isola  Madre  got  her  name  of 
maternal  dignity  two  tales  may  show.  The  first 
is  of  pious  origin,  and  Hnks  the  memory  of  holy 
men  and  women  of  the  past  with  folks  at  work 
and  play  to-day.  The  site,  it  is  said,  of  the 
earhest  Christian  church  in  Lakeland,  holy  monks 
and  nuns  dwelt  in  security  in  the  wild  old  times, 
and  ministered  to  turbulent  souls  the  sweet  com- 
forts of  Mary,  Mother  of  the  Church.  When 
"  Pallanza  la  Graciosa "  was  in  swaddhng-bands, 
and  before  she  began  to  grow,  the  mother-island 
and  the  mother-Church  stood  for  her  weal  and 
healed  her  woe.  Time  ran  swiftly  on, — ^it  ever 
does, — and  men's  simple  faith  and  humble  practice 
were  no  safeguards  against  pomp  and  circumstance. 
The  beauty  of  the  island  was  its  undoing  as  a 


*'  VERBANO  "  67 

sanctuary.  Never  the  prey  of  marauders,  it  is 
true,  in  the  sense  of  rape  and  rage,  Isola  Madre 
became  the  apple  of  the  eye  of  the  discerning  and 
enterprising  Borromei.  Theirs  was  abeady  the 
Isola  Bella,  the  cynosure  of  artistic  girUsh  beauty, 
and  of  Isola  Madre  they  made  the  exemplar  of 
natural  maternal  comeliness.  Likened  to  a  cun- 
ningly woven  basket  fiUed  with  ripe  deUcious  fruit, 
which  Pomona  offers  to  "  Lords  and  Ladies  of  the 
Lake,"  Isola  Madre,  more  luxuriant  far  than  her 
younger  rival,  wins  the  love  of  aU.  The  other 
story  of  nomenclature  assigns  to  Elizabetta  Cris- 
tina,  Mother-Queen  of  Spain,  the  designation 
"  Madre."  She,  like  many  another  Aragonese 
bride  of  Dukes  of  Milan,  was  enchanted  by  the 
vision  of  the  Borromean  Islands.  "  Here,"  she 
said,  "  I  could  wish  to  spend  my  days,  and  find 
my  grave  at  the  end  of  them."  Alas  !  the  Palazzo, 
like  a  flashing  crystal  set  in  emeralds  and  gold, 
has  nowadays  no  occupant.  Scions  of  the  noble 
house  occasionally  pay  visits  for  alfresco  delights, 
but  their  parting  footsteps  echo  and  re-echo  along 
empty  corridors,  and  ghosts  of  gay  visitors  glide 
silently  through  unpeopled  rooms.  Isola  Madre, 
like  she  whose  name  it  reaUy  bears — Maria  Im- 
maculata — is  undefiled  by  steamer-smoke  and  the 
rough-and-tumble  of  the  world.  No  more  secluded 
beauty-spot  for  meditation  can  be  imagined. 


68     LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

From  the  Borromean  Islands  to  Intra's  smoky 
chimneys  is  quite  a  short  cruise  by  boat  or  foot, 
and  yet  a  greater  contrast  is  unimaginable.  Intra 
is  the  Manchester  of  Maggiore — a  land  of  machinery 
and  fumes — strange  metamorphosis  indeed,  for  in 
the  fourteenth  century  her  name  was  Sant'  Am- 
brogio  di  Intra — a  shrine  for  peace  and  prayer. 
The  Borromean  stronghold  is  altered  out  of  all 
recognition  ;  it  is  an  iron-foundry.  Still,  Intra  is 
encircled  by  lovely  country  bedight  with  sump- 
tuous villas.  ViUa  Frangosini  is  called  the  "  Queen 
of  ViUas."  Nowhere  are  magnolias  and  camelUas 
so  immense,  and  flowered  with  so  much  wealth. 
Count  Antonio  Barbo,  whose  town  house  is  in 
Milan,  is  the  lucky  enterprising  owner.  There  is, 
however,  little  or  no  historical  romance  at  Intra. 
Romance  there  is,  of  course,  and  plenty  of  it,  but 
it  belongs  to  the  ordinary  day  and  night,  and  is 
more  or  less  sordid  in  its  measure  and  touched 
with  commercial  vulgarity. 

Once  round  the  Punta  di  Castagnola, — with  its 
bright  green  chestnut-trees,  with  almost  human 
hands,  and  spikes  of  early  pink-white  spring  bloom, 
and  later  on  hard  nuts  of  rich  autumn  brown, — 
Lake  Maggiore  assumes  quite  another  aspect,  and 
her  story  thenceforward  to  her  head  is  unHke  the 
romance  of  her  southern  moiety.  Minerva  of  the 
shores  of  literature  and  femininity,  her  brilUant 


"  VERBANO  "  69 

golden  casque  laid  aside  that  men  may  be  fasci- 
nated by  her  autumn  locks  and  flashing  eyes,  now 
assumes  her  brazen  helmet  and  grasps  her  weapon 
tightly,  for  she  needs  all  her  reserve  of  powers  to 
withstand  the  pirate  crew.  Purple  flow  the  lake 
currents — coloured  by  the  crimson  gore  of  men 
mixed  with  aqueous  blue.  A  cold  wind  from  the 
north  and  a  broken  sea  of  foam  bid  the  lookout 
keep  his  post.  Nature  as  well  as  history  has  dif- 
fei'entiated  Maggiore  north  and  south.  Still,  there 
are  beauty-spots  hidden  away  in  pretty  coves,  and 
the  sternness  of  Vulcan  at  times  relaxes  in  a 
love-liaison. 

Ruined  castles  and  dismantled  towers  meet  the 
eye  with  martello-like  frequency,  but  their  stories 
of  rapine  and  deadly  feud  have  vanished  into  dust. 
As  we  gaze  on  these  tokens  of  a  sanguinary  past 
the  terrifying  cry  of  "  Ze  Mazzarditi  I "  seems  to 
sound  in  our  ears, — the  fell  pirates  of  the  lake  from 
whose  clutches  there  was  no  escape.  They  were 
the  irreconcilable  offspring  of  an  early  race  or 
races  of  marauders.  In  Milan,  in  the  year  1275, 
there  culminated  the  blood-strife  of  Torriani  and 
Visconti.  The  former  were  for  the  people,  the 
latter  for  the  lords.  All  Lombardy  was  torn  in 
pieces  by  war,  robbery,  and  lust,  and  the  waves 
of  savagery  rolled  back  the  southern  culture  cur- 
rents of  the  lakes.     The  Lomellini  fell  before  Arch- 


70     LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

bishop  Ottone  Visconti ;  ''  Torriani  to  the  rescue !" 
drove  the  Visconti  out  of  the  castles  they  had 
seized,  leaving  them  only  Arona  and  Angera.  Then 
the  fortune  of  war  changed,  and  the  Visconti  re- 
occupied  Quassa  and  CasteUsepiro,  to  be  expelled 
with  grievous  loss  once  more,  until  the  militant 
Archbishop  was  in  fuU  retreat  to  Cannobio.  There, 
rallying  his  forces,  he  was  joined  by  the  Signore 
of  Locarno,  Simone  Rusca,  and  Marchese  GugHel- 
mo  di  Monferrato,  and  they  pushed  the  Torriani 
back.  Battles  fought  on  land  and  lake  decimated 
the  lacustrine  population  and  impoverished  the 
lake  lords.  In  1358  Duke  Gian  Galeazzo  II.,  for 
the  permanent  glory  of  his  house,  dismantled  the 
strongholds  of  Arona,  Invorio,  Castellatto,  Mia- 
simo,  and  many  others  on  the  banks  of  the  lake, 
leaving,  as  he  said,  not  "  a  goat  foothold  "  for 
adherents  of  the  rival  faction.  The  next  Duke, 
— Giovanni  Maria  Visconti, — the  most  cruel  of  his 
race, — ^not  content  to  let  matters  settle  gradually, 
let  loose  once  more  the  dogs  of  war, — to  speak 
metaphorically, — and  alongside  of  the  metaphor 
actual  savage  dogs,  great  mastiffs,  to  hunt  out, 
drag  forth,  or  devour  all  fugitives  and  men 
marked  as  dangerous. 

Those  were  days  of  Guelph  against  GhibeUine, 
Ghibelhne  against  Guelph,  and  no  man's  Ufe  and 
land  were  safe.     Holding  with  the  Ghibellines  in 


"  VERBANO  "  71 

the  first  decade  of  the  fifeenth  century,  at  Cannero, 
were  the  five  brothers  Mazzarditi,  doughty  cham- 
pions in  work  and  strife,  sons  of  Pietro,  a  black- 
smith of  Roneo,  near  Locarno  :  Giovanolo,  Beltra- 
mino,  Simonello,  Petrolo,  and  Antonio  were  their 
names.  Incited  by  Simore  Rusca,  a  descendant 
of  the  hoary-headed  ally  of  the  Visconti, — they 
began  to  harass  the  unfortunate  Guelphs,  who 
happened  to  be  in  the  vicinity.  Their  depreda- 
tions grew  in  boldness  and  dimension.  At  length, 
in  1403,  they  fell  upon  their  peaceful  neighbours 
at  Cannobio,  plundered  their  houses,  and  slew  all 
who  opposed  them.  The  two  seneschals  of  the 
town — the  brothers  ManteUi — they  despatched 
with  their  daggers.  Their  sister  Bianca,  rather 
than  lose  her  life,  entreated  Petrolo  Mazzardito  to 
marry  her  and  do  with  her  what  he  would,  in  ex- 
change for  the  goods  of  her  murdered  brothers — 
not  a  very  heroic  fine  of  action,  to  be  sure,  but 
perhaps  excusable  under  the  circumstances  !  The 
wife  of  the  Podesta  was  carried  off  for  ransom  ;  he, 
good  man,  escaped — Giacomo  Pozzo  di  Vezevano. 
Then  the  miscreants  set  off  upon  their  cruise  of 
piracy.  Locarno,  Ascona,  and  even  far-distant 
Angera,  w^ere  laid  under  contribution.  Pallanza, 
Intra,  and  Arona  alone  repelled  them ;  Angera 
suffered  terribly  ;  taken  unawares  and  in  the  dark 
by  a  crowd  of  savage  brutes,  the  greater  number 


72     LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

of  the  men  were  massacred,  and  the  young  women 
carried  off  to  feed  iU-conditioned  lust.  Returning 
from  the  foray,  the  pirates  found  arrayed  against 
them  the  united  and  armed  fleets  of  fishing-vessels 
of  Laveno  and  Belgirate,  with  a  great  flotilla  from 
Pallanza,  on  its  way  to  join  her  neighbours. 
Daringly  and  successfully  the  corsairs  of  Cannobio 
ran  the  gauntlet  of  grappling-irons  and  artillery, 
sinking  instead  of  themselves  the  boats  of  their 
allied  enemies.  Back  once  more  in  their  home 
waters,  the  ruffians  set  to  work  to  fortify  them- 
selves against  the  vendetta  at  their  heels.  They 
compelled  the  poor  disheartened  men  of  their 
village  to  build,  laboriously  and  almost  unpaid, 
two  castles  upon  two  rugged  rocks  projecting 
above  the  lake  at  Cannero.  One  they  called 
"  Traffiume,'''  the  other  "  Carmagnola ;"  but  those 
who  wrought  and  those  who  watched  in  derision 
dubbed  them  "  Castelli  Malpaga '' — No-pay 
Castles ! 

AH  trade  and  industry  were  at  an  end  so  far  as 
the  northern  portion  of  the  lake  was  concerned, 
and  the  robber  brethren  were  ever  ready  to  sally 
forth  to  destroy  any  useful  peaceful  movement  in 
the  south.  Their  example  and  encouragement 
made  many  an  honest  man  a  rogue.  Bands  of 
highwaymen  haunted  the  valleys  and  the  shores 
hand-in-hand  with  the  pirates  of  the  deep.     At 


\*«.      •. 


"  VERBANO  "  73 

last,  in  1414,  Duke  Filippo  Maria  Visconti,  hearing 
of  the  distress  and  anarchy,  determined  to  subdue 
the  Mazzarditi  and  their  following.  Capitano 
Giacomo  Lonate,  one  of  the  Duke's  most  trusted 
commanders,  was  despatched  with  a  strong  force, 
manning  many  battleships  at  Arona.  The  expedi- 
tion was  a  triumph  of  order  over  riot.  The  Maz- 
zarditi were  caught,  Hke  rats  in  a  trap,  in  their 
two  castles  at  Cannero,  but,  like  brave  men,  they 
fought  and  refused  surrender,  until  six  months  of 
starvation  had  lowered  their  courage  and  their 
vim ;  they  paid  the  death  penalty  for  their  mad- 
ness and  their  crimes. 

Lake  Maggiore  now  breathed  freely  after  twelve 
years  of  bloodshed  and  misery.  The  two  robber 
castles  were  thrown  down,  and  happier  days  came 
to  Cannobio.  One  hundred  years  after  the  feuds 
of  Torriani,  Visconti,  and  Mazzarditi  had  been  put 
to  silence,  other  Lords — not  war-Lords — assumed 
the  ownership  of  both  communes — the  all-per- 
vading Borromei.  On  the  ruins  of  Trajflume,  in 
1519,  Count  Lodovico  Borromeo  built  his  Castello 
VitaHana,  but  it  became  a  ruin,  too.  Where 
"Ladies  of  the  Lake"  flirted,  fished,  and  feasted, 
nowadays  the  simple  folk  of  Cannero  foregather 
yearly  in  harvest-time,  and  make  the  battered 
walls,  clothed  in  richest  ivy,  re-echo  with  hilarity. 

Between   Cannobio   and  Brisago  is  the   Swiss 


74     LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

frontier, — ^for  the  head  of  the  lake  belongs  to 
Switzerland's  canton  of  Ticino, — with  its  custom- 
houses. Toll  is  taken,  too,  of  water-craft  sailing 
over  the  imaginary  line.  Brisago  has  belonged  to 
Switzerland  since  1520  ;  she  was  weary  of  the 
bloodshed  of  Torriani,  Visconti,  Rusca,  and  Maz- 
zarditi,  and  she  loved  her  liberty.  The  delta  of 
the  torrent,  Maggia,  portentously  increasing  during 
each  decade,  separates  Ascona  from  Locarno  at 
the  head  of  Lake  Maggiore.  The  crown  of  Lo- 
carno, and,  indeed,  of  the  whole  lake,  is  the 
Madonna  del  Sasso,  which  conspicuously  pro- 
claims the  triumph  of  religion  over  other  forces. 
The  town  has  been  famous  from  Eoman  times, 
but  Celts  baptized  it  Loc-ar-no — the  Place  of 
the  Lake — and  so  Locarno  is  the  soul  of  Lake 
Maggiore.  With  feet  at  Arona  and  Angera,  and 
hands  at  Stresa  and  Baveno,  her  graceful  form 
reposes  in  the  deep  vaUey  Nature  has  formed,  and 
her  head  lies  on  the  breast  of  the  Madonna  del 
Sasso.  It  is  a  notable  sanctuary,  built  by  the 
devotion  of  Locarnese  noble  families — ^the  Muralti, 
Orelli,  Magoria,  Rusca,  and  a  host  of  others.  All 
feuds  and  passions  are  laid  low  at  the  feet  of 
"  Maria  Stella  Maris,''  now  The  Virgin  of  the  Rock ; 
and  a  story  must  be  told. 

Upon  the  glorious  Feast  af  the  Assumption  in 
August,    1480,    a    pious    brother,    Bartolommeo 


"  VERBANO  "  75 

d'  Ivrea,  a  monk  in  the  Franciscan  monastery  at 
Locarno,  was  honoured  by  a  supernatural  visit 
from  Christ's  Mother.  It  was  midnight,  and  a 
brilliant  harvest-moon  silver-plated  lake  and  land, 
— when  the  brother  beheld,  whilst  reciting  his  early 
"  Prime,"  a  vision  of  glory  in  his  cell.  The  Mother 
extended  her  hand,  and  pointed  up  the  hill,  and 
said :  "  Tell  the  men  and  women  of  this  place  to 
build  me  a  sanctuary  yonder  !"  Frate  Barto- 
lommeo  sought  the  Prior,  and  told  him  his  story, 
the  while  heavenly  voices  chanted  the  sweetest 
"  Ave  "  mortal  ears  had  ever  heard.  This  sign  was 
the  token  of  absolute  truth  and  command.  The 
little  church  was  consecrated  in  1483,  and  then 
the  holy  brother  retired  into  a  grotto  he  had 
scooped  out  of  the  mountain-side,  and  Hved  there  in 
piety,  prayer,  and  poverty  for  nigh  twenty  years, 
and  when  he  died,  the  same  angehc  choir  chanted 
over  his  bier  the  Nunc  Dimittis.  San  Carlo  Borro- 
meo  loved  to  dwell  there,  and  to  preach  to  the 
fisherfolk  and  the  dressers  of  the  vines.  Due  to  his 
initiative,  a  greater  church  was  built,  "  with  room," 
as  he  indicated,  "  for  all  who  love  Mother  Mary." 
The  church  is  reached  by  a  winding  path  under  the 
shade  of  trees,  and  the  devout  pilgrim  finds  four- 
teen ''  Stations,"  at  all  of  which  he  may  rest  and 
meditate.  These  Stations  are  chapels  with  altars 
and  their  appurtenances,  but  are  chiefly  remarkable 


76     LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

for  the  painted  terra-cotta  groups  illustrative  of 
the  Hfe  and  death  of  Christ.  These  figures  have 
a  speciaUty  all  their  own  ;  they  are  not  merely 
ideal  reproductions  of  humanity,  but  are  portrait 
studies  of  "  Lords  and  Ladies  "  of  Locarno  and  the 
neighbourhood,  and  are  quite  startUng  in  their 
reahsm.  The  "  Lords  and  Ladies "  of  modem 
Locarno  are  cast  in  another  mould  —  men  and 
women,  of  course,  like  their  predecessors.  The 
cult  of  reUgion  yields  in  them  place  to  the  cult  of 
fashion  ;  and  where  cowled  monks  and  veiled  nuns 
four  hundred  years  ago  crept  laboriously  on  knee 
to  pray,  well-groomed  visitors  of  the  health-resorts 
make  the  hills  ring  with  merry  laughter. 


CHAPTER  II 

"  CERESIO  " 
THE  LAKES  OF  LUGANO  AND  VARESE 

''  Ceresio,"  the  Home  of  Ceres  !  What  more  de- 
lightful or  appropriate  name  could  be  wished  for 
the  harvest-field  of  the  gods  which  surrounds  the 
sickle-shaped  lake  of  Lugano  !  Well  and  cun- 
ningly did  those  old  Romans  and  Greeks,  who 
colonized  barbarous  Europe,  give  names  geograph- 
ical where  they  Usted.  Lugano  is  the  Lake  of 
Ceres,  the  goddess  Earth's  riches,  mother  of  Per- 
sephone, the  gatherer  of  flowers,  whom  she  lost 
awhile,  but  again  recovered  with  the  help  of  Mer- 
cury, much  as  spring  and  autumn  succeed  each 
other  in  the  yearly  round. 

There  is  a  further  conceit  anent  this  divine 
patronage  of  the  luxuriant  Ticinese  lake.  Zeus 
and  Plato,  it  was  said,  were  privy  to  the  rape  of 
Persephone.  Giant  mountain  gods  and  guardians 
of  "  Ceresio  "  are  Salvatore  and  Generoso,  rocky 
monuments  of  the  two  deities,  and  aptly  named. 
The    return    of    Persephone    to    Ceres    produced 

77 


78     LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

amazing  fertility,  and  the  mother-goddess  had  as 
much  as  she  could  do  with  her  golden  sickle  to 
gather  in  the  harvest  of  the  earth. 

L — ^LUGANO. 

The  social  conditions  of  the  canton  of  Ticino 
and  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  lake-shores  of  Lugano 
are  very  different  from  those  which  obtain 
generally  in  the  land  of  the  Italian  lakes  proper. 
Strictly  speaking,  there  are  no  "  Lords  and  Ladies  " 
of  Lake  Lugano,  and  none  have  there  been  these 
four  hundred  years  or  so.  Before  the  time  of 
Francis  I.  of  France  the  history  of  the  canton  and 
of  the  lake  ran  concurrently  with  that  of  the 
neighbouring  Piedmont-Lombard  lands. 

Bellinzona,  the  ancient  capital  of  the  canton,  is 
a  thoroughly  ItaUan  town,  quite  Venetian  in 
character,  with  three  most  picturesque  castles — 
Gorbe,  Picile,  and  Gian — but  it  gives  place  to 
Lugano  as  the  most  populous  and  best-known 
place  in  Ticino.  Some  maintain  that  Lugano  is 
of  Roman  origin — the  castrum,  or  headquarters,  of 
a  legion.  Be  this  as  it  may,  in  the  year  1000  the 
Emperor  Otto  11.  made  a  grant  of  the  whole  dis- 
trict to  Adelgiro,  Bishop  of  Como,  with  the  right 
to  levy  market  tolls.  The  election  to  the  see  of 
one  of  his  successors,  Landulfo  Carcano,  a  Milanese 
monk,  was  the  occasion  of  a  fierce  conflict.     The 


"  CERESIO  "  79 

rival  Popes,  Gregory  VIII.  and  Urban  II.,  each 
nominated  a  Bishop.  Carcano  was  the  choice  of 
the  former,  but  the  people  of  Como  would  not 
accept  him,  and  drove  him  from  the  city.  Car- 
cano took  refuge  in  the  Castle  of  San  Giorgio  at 
Agno  at  the  head  of  the  MagUaso  bay  of  the  lake, 
some  three  miles  from  the  town  of  Lugano.  There 
he  intrigued  with  certain  Milanese  clerics  and 
nobles,  and  the  castle  became  the  headquarters 
of  a  strong  army  hostile  to  the  orders  of  Carcano. 
The  Comacine  forces  took  the  fortress  by  storm, 
and  put  Carcano  and  his  Visconti  aUies  to  death  ; 
this  was  the  beginning  of  the  hundred  years'  war 
between  Como  and  Milan.  The  partisans  of 
Guelphs  and  GhibeUines  carried  on  the  feud  of 
blood  in  that  fair  lakeland,  and  the  famiHes  of 
Vitani,  Rusconi,  and  Torriani,  and  many  another 
were  opposed  to,  and  at  grips  with,  one  another. 
Lugano  became  the  prey  of  Como,  Milan,  and 
Venice  turn  and  turn  about. 

Spanish,  French,  and  Teuton  swept  the  lake 
and  its  shores  with  warning  sails  and  warHke  hosts, 
but  all  the  while  the  thew  of  the  mountaineers 
and  fisherfolk  was  hardening,  and  in  the  fulness 
of  time  patriots  foregathered  to  the  undoing  of 
the  invader.  Under  their  leader,  Johann  von 
Wippingen,  the  men  of  Ticino  gained  their  inde- 
pendence.    After    the    decisive    battle    of    Men- 

6 


80     LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

drisio  midway  between  Porto  Ceresio  and  Como, 
Francis  I.  of  France,  in  1516,  signed  a  treaty  which 
left  his  patriot  foemen  to  manage  their  own  affairs. 
Von  Wippingen  caused  landowners  and  peasants 
ahke  to  swear  an  oath  of  fealty  to  the  new  Re- 
pubUc,  safeguarding  individual  rights  and  com- 
munal privileges.  Each  adult  Ticinese  was  the 
equal  of  his  brother,  and  f  amihes,  which  dated  their 
nobihty  back  to  a  distant  ancestry,  dropped  their 
titles  and  prerogatives,  or  migrated  into  Lom- 
bardy.  Ticino  joined  the  League  of  the  Twelve 
Cantons,  and  was  blessed  by  wellnigh  three  hun- 
dred years  of  peace.  Then  that  upheaval  of  all 
Europe  -the  French  Revolution  of  1798 — made 
itself  felt  in  the  Swiss-Itahan  cantons.  Lugano 
again  resisted  the  makers  of  the  Cisalpine  Re- 
pubUc,  and  the  patriots  affixed  their  motto — 
'^  Liberi  e  Svizzeri  " — ^upon  their  banners  and  their 
buildings. 

The  town  of  Lugano  played  a  conspicuous  part 
also  in  the  struggle  for  freedom  of  her  mighty  neigh- 
bour state  Italy  in  the  year  1848.  She  became  the 
headquarters  for  nearly  twenty  years  of  Giuseppe 
Mazzini,  the  "  prophet  "  of  ItaUan  unity,  which 
Cavour  and  Garibaldi  carried  to  success. 

If  there  are  fewer  tales  to  teU  of  titled  famous 
people  of  Lugano  than  of  their  kind  about  the 
other  lakes  of  the  Southern  Alps,  the  folklore  of 


CORNER    OF    THE    "  SALITA.      ^> PORTRAITS    OF    LADIES    OF    THE 
MARTINENGO     FAMILY 

ALESSANDRO    MORETTO 

Martinengo  Palace,  Brescia.    (See  page  302) 


To  face  page  80 


"  CERESIO  "  81 

**  Ceresio  "  yields  to  none  in  fulness  and  fascination. 
The  Tradizioni  Popolari  Ticinesi  are  abundant, 
and  their  hold  upon  townsfolk  and  country  people 
is  still  emphatic.  Go  where  one  will — off  the  beaten 
tourist  track,  of  course — quaint  sayings  and 
quainter  customs  are  delightfully  in  evidence,  and 
the  dialects  are  most  interesting.  Let  it  first  be 
said,  however,  that  the  temperament  and  personal 
characteristics  of  the  people  are  dissimilar  from 
those  of  their  Lombard  cousins.  The  promptings 
of  hberty,  defence,  and  responsibility  have  marked 
the  men  and  women,  and  even  the  children,  with 
a  measure  of  seriousness  which  is  unlike  the 
abandon  of  the  Italians.  Gaiety,  too,  be  sure  they 
have,  but  one  detects  easily  a  sense  of  restraint 
in  every  class.  The  Luganese  say  of  themselves, 
"  In  disposition  we  are  ItaKan,  but  in  action 
we  are  Swiss."  Ticino  is  comparatively  a  very- 
prosperous  canton,  and  the  peasantry  are 
well-to-do  and  comfortable.  No  Swiss-Italian 
race  has  anything  like  so  great  a  love  of 
home  and  homely  things  as  the  Ticinese. 
They  are  law-abiding  people,  addicted  to 
rehgious  exercises  and  generous  to  their  own, 
whilst  they  perhaps  ruthlessly  despoil  the 
foreigner. 

Passing  in  review  the  seven  ages  of  mankind  as 
exhibited  around  the  Lake  of  Lugano,  childish 


82     LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

words  and  ways  first  arrest  us.  In  the  district  of 
Bedano  the  children's  morning  orisons  are  recited 
in  the  words  which  follow  : 

"  A  letto  mi  vagh, 
Quatordas  ^ngiur  che  ma  cumpagna, 
Diiii  da  pe, 
Duu  da  CO, 
Diiii  dra  mau  drizza 
Diiii  dra  mau  sinistra, 
Diiii  da  indurment^m, 
Diiii  da  dessedam, 
E  diiii  da  menam. 
A  ra  santa  gloria  du  Paradis." 

A  mother  nursing  her  baby  on  her  knee  sings  or 

croons : 

"  Trik,  trok,  cavalott, 
Tre  stera  d  'u  me  morott, 
Pan  cald,  pan  ciok 
Trik  e  trok,  ciapaciok." 

When  parents  note  pugnacious  prochvities  be- 
tween their  young  offspring  the  fathers  at  least 
look  on  approvingly,  but  the  mothers  check  the 
infantile  combat  with  dulcet  words  : 

"  Tira  via  quel  piign 
Parche  ? 

Parche  F  e  cent'  ann  ch  'u  gh'e. 
Chi  ch'e  mangiad  ra  carua  du  lavigioo  ? 
Ul  gatt. 

E'l  gatt  induva  el  nacc  ? 
In  d  'u  tecc. 
Alprim  che  palla  ga  tirum  i  urecc." 


"  CERESIO  "  83 

It  is  easy  enough  to  understand  the  meaning  of 
these  nursery  rhymes  ;  they  are  like  our  own,  and 
the  quaintness  of  the  diction  appeals  to  aU.  To 
pronounce  the  odd-looking  archaic  words  is  quite 
another  matter  ! 

The  children  of  Ticino  are  strenuous  youngsters. 
The  richness  of  the  air  and  of  the  soil  greatly 
aid  the  natural  vigour  of  their  parents.  Their 
games  are  all  of  a  pushful  character,  though  often 
trained  in  a  theological  direction.  At  Arbedo  they 
play  "  Angiulin  vegu  via.^''  The  boys  and  girls 
place  themselves  in  a  row  one  behind  the  other, 
ready  to  advance,  and  then  they  separate  in  two 
divisions,  one  headed  by  "  La  Madonna,''  the  other 
by  "II  Diabolo''— the  rest  are  called  "Angels" 
and  "  Devils  "  respectively.  The  girl  called  "  La 
Madonna''  challenges  the  boy,  ''II  Diabolo": 
"  Angiulin  vegu  via  I" — Let  the  angels  pass  !  To 
which  "  II  Diabolo  "  repUes  :  "  G'  o  pagina  che  'I 
diavul  ma  porta  via  I" — Only  those  may  pass  me 
who  pay  my  price  !  Then  he  blows  a  whistle, 
and  all  rush  peU-meU  to  a  point  pre-agreed,  the 
"  Devils "  trying  to  catch  the  "  Angels,"  and 
kissing  those  they  capture. 

Another  very  popular  game,  in  which  adults 
love  to  join,  is  called  "  Fare  at  bel  galante  " — Good 
luck  to  the  bravest !  The  players  form  a  ring  ; 
one  enters  and  takes  his  or  her  place  in  the  centre. 


84     LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

and  then   all   dance   round   and   round   singing, 

merrily : 

"  Bel  galante  entrate  in  ballo, 
Innamorato  senza  fallo, 
Ghe  qualcuno  che  vi  piace  ? 
Degh  la  man,  tirell  in  pas." 

Then  the  leader  in  the  centre  chooses  his  or  her 
sweetheart  from  the  ring,  and  they  dance  together 
round  about,  making  what  steps  and  grimaces 
they  choose,  whilst  the  other  players  dance  round 
again  and  sing  : 

"  Eccola  gui  che  To  trovata. 
Granda  e  grossa  e  ben  levata, 
Eccola  qui  che  la  balaben 
Che  la  sumeja  un  miigg  da  fen 
Degh  un  gir,  intorno,  intorno 
Degan  un  altro,  amora  amora 
Mora,  mora,  lassela  auda 
Mora,  mora,  lassela  scapa." 

The  couple  in  the  centre  kiss  and  then  part 
hands,  and  each  chooses  another  partner, — and 
so  the  game  goes  on.  The  couple  who  look,  and 
dance,  and  kiss  the  best  is  accounted  victorious. 
The  game  is  quite  the  favourite  in  every  part 
of  the  canton.  There  are  many  variations 
of  the  game  under  different  names,  but  in 
each  the  daintiest  figures  and  the  prettiest 
faces  win  the  day, — and  so  it  should  be,  of 
course  ! 


"  CERESIO  "  85 

Satirical  songs  and  greetings  mark  all  arts  and 
crafts,  professions  and  conditions.  An  old  maid 
is  saluted  thus  : 

"  Ra  prestinera  la  g^  trii  goss, 
Viin  pinin  e  viin  1'  e  gross  ; 
E  viin  la  gr^  in  dra  panera 
Trik  e  titrak  ra  prestinera.'* 

Which  may  perhaps  be  EngUshed  : 

"  An  old  maid  is  always  known, 
Whether  thin  or  fat  she's  grown ; 
Be  her  bucket  light  or  weighed, 
Trik  and  trak,  poor  old  maid." 

Masons  upon  buildings  are  chided  : 

*'  Mastru  "  Master 

Impiastru,  Plaster, 

StOpa  bOcc  ;  Eat  your  tow  ; 

Mazza  piocc."  Take  a  blow." 

As  in  other  countries  so  in  Ticino,  the  church 
bells  have  the  imputed  righteousness,  or  the 
reverse,  of  articulation.  The  Cathedral  peal  at 
Bellinzona  sound  :  ''  L'  e  or-argent-azzal'metall' 
tolou'V  e  fer-Ve  pioomC 

The  campanile  of  San  Lorenzo  in  Lugano  echoes 
the  following : 

"  Fra  Martino  campanaro 
Suona  sempre  le  sue  campane. 
E  ton — li  ton — ti  ton — li  t6n, 
Li  ton — li  ton — e  li  ton — e  ti  toon." 


86    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 
At  Magadino  there  is  a  very  quaint  saying  : 

"  A  gh  e  un  animal 
Che  a  la  matin  el  va  cun  quatar  gamb 
A  mezz  di  cun  do 
E  ala  sera  cun  tre 
Induvina  cosa  F  e." 

It  is  in  the  form  of  a  riddle,  and  the  answer  is  : 
"  Man,  who,  when  a  baby,  goes  on  all  fours ;  in 
middle  age  on  two  legs ;  and  when  old,  supports 
himself  upon  a  stick  !"  There  are  very  many  such 
amusing  conundrums, — and  most  of  them  are 
uncomplimentary,  —  throughout  the  lakeland  of 
Lugano. 

The  Tavernese,  near  Lugano,  have  a  septet — 
"La  Settimana  degli  amanti  " — The  week  for  lovers : 

"  Liinedi  V  e  '1  di  di  spiis, 
Martedi  V  e  di  mums, 
Mercoledi  di  poch  da  bon, 
Giovedi  V  e  di  strion, 
Venerdi  di  desperad, 
Sabat  di  invemur^d, 
Dumeniza  di  passionad."* 

The  people  of  Ticino  hold  many  beliefs  in  signs 
and  auguries.     Thus,  in  order  to  win  at  the  ever- 

*  "  Monday — prepare. 
Tuesday — speak  fair. 
Wednesday — take  hold. 
Thursday — quite  bold. 
Friday — despair. 
Saturday — repair. 
Sunday — the  day  for  Love," 


"  CERESIO  "  87 

popular  lottery,  it  is  a  desirable  practice  to  get 
hold  of  a  lizard  with  two  tails  (not,  one  would 
suppose,  a  too  common  lusus  naturce  /),  and  place 
it  in  a  box  with  two  compartments,  with  a  full 
feed  of  com.  Next  day  open  the  box.  What 
grains  have  not  been  consumed  represent  the 
winning  number.  Should  the  lizard  devour  the 
whole  feed,  then  place  a  double  feed  in  the  box, 
and  examine  as  before. 

SaHva  is  made  the  vehicle  of  good  augury. 
To  spit  is  the  correct  thing  if  one  meets  a  hump- 
backed person,  or  beholds  a  spider  running  quickly 
up  a  wall,  or  if  one  finds  a  clover  leaf  in  quatref oil. 
To  see  a  white  moth  flying  round  a  lighted  candle 
or  lamp  is  a  presage  of  good  news  on  the  morrow. 
If  the  first  person  we  meet  out  of  doors  on  January  1 
is  a  boy,  one  may  look  for  a  good  harvest ;  if  a 
girl,  then  there  may  be  trouble  at  home.  On  the 
other  hand,  there  are  signs  of  ill-fortunes : — If 
a  hen  crows  Hke  a  cock,  then  there  wiU  be  an 
immediate  death  in  the  family  !  One  must  never 
leave  the  knife  in  a  loaf  of  bread,  because  it  will 
hurt  the  heart  of  the  Madomia  !  Never  beat  a 
boy  before  a  girl,  or  vice  versa,  or  they  wiU  marry 
unhappily !  When  a  woman  combs  her  hair, 
she  must  be  careful  to  burn  the  hairs  which  fall. 
Should  one  fix  itself  upon  another  person,  it  is 
an  indication  that  misfortunes  are  in  store.     We 


88    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

might  quote  scores  of  such  expressions  on  the 
popular  belief  in  portents,  but  these  will  suffice 
to  illustrate  the  simple  character  of  the  people  of 
Lugano  and  Ticino. 

There  is  an  amusing  story  about  a  mule,  which 
ate  the  grass  off  the  church  tower  of  Isone — a 
village  a  Httle  north  of  Lugano.  Villagers  one 
summer  noticed  a  particularly  luxuriant  growth 
of  greenery  upon  the  tiles  of  the  Campanile, 
which  died  down  in  the  autumn,  and  presented 
a  very  untidy  appearance.  Not  knowing  quite 
how  to  remove  the  disfiguring  mass,  they  took 
counsel  with  a  wise  woman  of  the  district.  She 
advised  them  to  attach  a  rope  to  the  collar  of  a 
mule,  draw  it  over  a  pulley,  and  fix  it  to  the  highest 
loophole  of  the  tower.  Then  they  were  to  raise 
the  animal  gently,  and  let  him  feed  on  the  dry 
leaves.  Almost  strangled  (as  we  may  well  sup- 
pose), the  mule  was  got  as  far  as  haK-way  up, 
when,  giving  vent  to  a  lusty  salutation,  he  ad- 
dressed, like  Balaam's  ass,  his  comrades  on  the 
ground  : — "  Be  of  good  courage,  children  ;  puU  the 
rope  tightly,  or  I  shall  laugh  at  your  stupidity, 
and  leave  you  to  eat  the  grass  by  your- 
selves !" 

By  the  villagers  of  Bre,  and  of  other  hamlets 
upon  the  slopes  of  beautiful  Monte  Bre, — a 
favourite  excursion  from  Lugano, — May  Day  is 


"  CERESIO  "  89 

celebrated   in   the   singing   of   a  very   delightful 
"  Maggiolata  "  or  spring  ditty  : 

"  Sem  vegnii  stasira, 
Sem  vegnii  da  via, 
Per  dar  la  buona  notte 
A  vostra  Signoria. 

Belleben  del  maggio, 

L'  e  fiorid  el  magg.*' 

"  In  alto,  in  alto. 
Come  I'erba  al  praa, 
Sem  rivaa  al  palazz 
Dal  scior  cUraa. 

Belleben  del  maggio, 
L'  ^  fiorid  el  magg." 

"  Quella  finestrella 
Che  garda  vers  al  pian, 
Viva  al  scior  cxiraa 
Quand  al  v^  a  Liigan. 

Come  '1  sa  mai  de  bon 
Ul  fiur  da  la  viol^, 
Viva  al  scior  ciiraa 
Quand  al  va  a  Castagnola. 

Come  '1  s^  mai  de  bon 
Ul  fiur  dal  gelsiimin, 
Viva  al  scior  ciiraa. 
Quand  al  va  a  Pascialin." 

The  quaintness  of  the  language  attests  the 
antiquity  of  the  rondo,  and  the  union  of  Lom- 
bardian  and  Swiss-German  phraseology — "  Beloved 
be  the  May  and  the  flowers  of  the  May." 

Carlo  Cattaneo,  the  thinker,  philosopher  and 
writer,  spent  many  happy  years  at  Castagnola, 


90    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

which,  on  account  of  its  beautiful  situation,  he 
caUed,  -'  A  bit  of  Paradise  dropped  on  earth." 
The  sun  shines  on  this  "  sweet  alp  of  Bre  "  the 
winter  through ;  its  back  is  to  the  North,  its  face 
due  south.  Villas,  villini,  and  every  sort  of 
tenement  encroach  upon  flowering  trees  and 
evergreens.  Jealous  of  the  amenities  of  Castag- 
nola,  the  level  ground  above  and  behind  the  town 
of  Lugano  has  associated  to  itself  the  title  "  II 
Paradiso''  Its  rising  background  is  '^  II  Monte 
d'  Oro  " — very  high-sounding  sobriquets  to  be  sure, 
but  admirably  appropriate. 

The  road  from  Lugano  to  Ponte  Tresa,  whence 
travellers  pass  on  to  Luino  for  Lake  Maggiore, 
skirts  the  exquisite  little  Lake  of  Muzzano,  which 
shares  with  the  Diirensee,  near  Cortina,  the  renown 
of  being  the  most  perfect  natural  looking-glass 
in  Europe.  Photographs  of  either  lake  look  quite 
as  well  upside  down,  the  reflections  in  the  never 
rufiied  water  being  absolute.  The  natives  have 
from  all  times, — perhaps  from  the  fabled  days 
of  Venus, — made  the  mirror  of  Muzzano  their 
gazing  crystal.  The  surface  reproduces  accurately 
every  object  projected  thereupon,  whilst  the  re- 
markable clearness  of  the  water  reveals  every 
detail  of  the  lake  bed.  "  Go  and  look  in 
Muzzan  !"  is  a  common  solution  for  questions  of 
the  future  or  the  past.     Maidens   see  in  those 


thp:  mirror  like  lake  of  muzzano 

From  a  Photograph, 


To  face  page  90 


"  CERESIO  "  91 

placid  waters  their  lovers,  the  lads  their  sweet- 
hearts, whilst  the  craven  villain's  guilt  is  brought 
home  to  him  by  those  tell-tale  depths.  On  Sun- 
days and  hoHdays  the  sedgy  banks  are  thronged 
mth  hopeful  devotees  of  Fate.  "I  saw  Zuan 
(Giovanni)  in  Muzzan."  "  Bella  kissed  me  out 
of  Muzzan,"  and  suchhke  are  the  convincing 
verdicts  of  those  silent  pools.  Fishing,  boating, 
and  bathing  were  at  one  time  all  forbidden  in 
Lake  Muzzano,  lest,  unhappily,  disastrous  con- 
sequences should  follow  the  breaking  of  the 
sanctuary.  The  peep  over  and  into  the  lake  in 
the  full  moonshine  is  an  astonishing  and  bewitch- 
ing experience.  It  has  something  of  the  same 
weirdness  of  effect  as  gazing  through  and  through 
endless  miles  of  glacier  ice  as  one  Ues  helpless  in 
the  abyss  of  an  alpine  crevasse. 

The  Lake  of  Lugano  is  surrounded  by  lofty 
mountains,  well  sheltering  her  shores  and  border- 
lands from  every  wind  intemperate.  For  all  the 
world  it  might  be  the  Bay  of  Uri,  part  of  the  Lake 
of  the  Four  Forest  Cantons  —  Lucerne.  Their 
names  seem  to  betoken  giants  of  a  noble  Valhalla, 
— Generoso,  Salvatore,  Bre,  BogHa,  Camoghe, 
Tamaro,  Pizzoni,  and  Bernardo,  the  loftiest. 
Whereever  mountains  run  up  into  the  sky  there 
caves  and  caverns  explore  their  bases,  and  so 
around  the  lake  are  many  eerie  openings  into  the 


92    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

bowels  of  the  earth.  The  grottoes  of  Osteno  and 
Rescia,  with  waterfalls  and  ravines,  are  happy 
resorts  in  summer  days ;  they  have  had  their 
tragedies  also.  The  picturesque  cascade  of  Santa 
Giulia  is  named  after  a  lovely  maiden  escaped  from 
ravishers — Giulia  da  Lanzo  d'  Intelvi.  Her  lover 
slain  before  her  eyes,  herself  thrown  anyhow  over 
mad  Ramponio's  saddle,  stumbling,  the  steed  threw 
man  and  girl  to  the  ground;  he  being  stunned,  she 
flew  and  hid  herself  in  the  spray  of  the  water- 
fall, and  there  she  died,  for  she  dared  not  issue 
forth. 

Lanzo  d'  Intelvi  is  the  birthplace,  and  has 
been  for  many  a  generation,  of  noted  archi- 
tects, sculptors,  and  pavement-markers.  Adamo 
d'  Arogno,  Lorenzo  de'  Spazzi,  Ercole  Ferrala,  and 
many  others,  left  their  humble  cottages,  fuU  of 
abihty  and  enthusiasm,  and  having  built  cathe- 
drals and  castles  in  Trent,  Como,  Florence,  and 
Novara,  returned  as  "  Lords  of  the  Lake,"  to 
enrich  their  native  village  with  the  fruit  they  had 
gathered  everywhere,  and  to  lay  their  bones  in 
the  cemetery  of  Santa  Magherita  di  Belvedere. 
The  Val  d'  Intelvi  is  one  of  the  most  exquisite 
valleys  of  Lombardy — a  very  worthy  cradle  of 
the  fine  arts. 

From  Lanzo  d'  Intelvi  the  summit  of  Monte 
Generoso  is  easily  reached   on   foot  in  a  couple 


\ 


"  CERESIO  "  93 

of  hours  :  thence  is  gained  the  most  splendid  pano- 
rama of  alp,  and  lake,  and  town  in  all  Lakeland. 
It  is  one  of  those  rare  experiences  which  bring  the 
best  heart -blood  bumping  in  one's  temples,  to 
transport  the  soul  and  intoxicate  the  senses. 
The  whole  plain  of  Lombardy  is  at  one's  feet,  and 
seated  in  a  dry  mossed  stone,  the  grand  pageants 
of  Milan  and  her  sister  cities  pass  before  one's 
eyes,  from  the  warhke  times  of  Bellovesas,  the 
GauHsh  chieftain,  six  hundred  years  before  our 
present  era,  to  the  struggHng  days  of  Garibaldi, 
the  "  Liberator  "  of  yesterday.  Around  and  about 
Monte  Generoso  have  marched  Celts,  Romans, 
Carthaginians,  Goths,  Lombards,  Moors,  Spaniards, 
French,  and  Austrians.  ReHcs  of  those  mighty 
warriors  are  brought  to  Ught  daily  by  the  busy 
plough;  many  are  treasured  in  the  Lugano  museum. 
Quite  near  Lugano  town  is  Campione  on  the  lake, 
the  nursery  of  famiUes  of  masters  in  stone,  and 
wood,  and  iron  —  the  celebrated  Campionesi  of 
the  thirteenth  and  fourteenth  centuries,  rivals  and 
compatriots  of  the  Comacine  masters  on  the  other 
side  of  Monte  Generoso  by  Lario's  lake.  Below 
Moreoti,  with  its  noble  church  and  campanile, — 
another  Madonna  del  Sasso — the  imaginary  water 
frontier-Une  between  Switzerland  and  Italy  is 
crossed,  and  then  the  ItaHan  Custom-house  officers 
on  board  the  steamer  begin  to  trouble  travelling 


94    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

"  Lords  and  Ladies  of  the  Lake."  They  are 
especially  interested  in  the  subject  of  cigars. 
By  a  comical  coincidence  the  author,  without  any 
introduction,  one  day  chanced  upon  a  doganiere 
in  a  very  accommodative  tobacco  shop  in  Lugano. 
Both  purchased  boxes  of  the  seductive  weed, 
and  exchanged  agreeable  salutations  in  the  door- 
way. In  duty  bound,  the  officer  made  his  rounds 
of  examination  among  the  passengers  on  the  Porto 
Ceresio  steamer,  and  in  turn  greeted  his  chance 
acquaintance  of  the  Tabacchierie.  Embarrassment 
fell  on  both ;  the  customary  interrogations  were 
checked  whilst  four  eyes  took  in  the  situation. 
The  official  had  erred,  as  had  the  traveller,  and 
a  mutual  elevation  of  hats  ended  the  episode ! 

Porto  Ceresio,  the  southernmost  village  of  Lake 
Lugano,  points  the  way  to  Varese — a  deUghtful 
walk  of  six  or  seven  miles  along  the  banks  of  the 
pleasant  murmuring  Brivio,  between  spurs  of 
Monte  Piambello  and  Pravello.  The  granite 
quarries  of  Cuasso  al  Monte,  somewhat  mar  the 
suavity  of  the  landscape,  which  here  has  gained 
the  title  of  II  Deserto.''  Right  on  the  top  of  the 
workings  is  a  solemn-looking  building  exactly  like 
a  monastery :  it  was,  indeed,  originally  a  cloister 
of  barefooted  CarmeUtes.  The  friars  came  to 
Varese  in  1676,  and  first  established  themselves 
at  Brenno  Superiore,  just  above  the  town.     Their 


"  CERESIO  "  95 

emigration  to  Cuasso  was  purely  tentative,  for 
after  they  had  developed  the  estate  and  erected 
their  refectory  and  cells,  they  cast  about  for  a 
wealthy  purchaser,  presciently  knowing  that  an 
evil  day  was  coming  for  all  conventional  institu- 
tions in  Lombardy.  "  II  Deserto  di  Cuasso  "  was 
the  name  given  in  1702  to  the  monkish  retreat  of 
its  new  proprietor,  Count  Vincenzio  Dandolo,  a 
Hneal  descendant  of  the  great  Venetian  crusader 
Doge  and  Admiral  Arrigo  Dandolo.  The  culture 
and  the  chivalry  of  the  Crusades  became  hereditary 
traits  in  that  famous  family,  and  Count  Vincenzio 
exhibited  all  the  charm  of  the  *'  Perfect  Courtier  " 
in  his  treatment  of  the  ReUgious.  They  were 
permitted  by  his  bounty  to  retain  the  chapel  and 
four  cells,  that  they  might  say  Mass  daily  for  the 
benefit  of  his  soul  and  the  souls  of  his  ancestors, 
and  might  also  share  the  good  things  of  his  table. 
Unhappily,  but  perhaps  naturally,  the  worthy 
friars  presumed  greatly  upon  their  patron's 
clemency  in  respect  of  their  conduct.  ViUage 
matrons  and  maids  preferred  complaints  against 
breaches  of  the  vow  of  chastity.  Episcopal  in- 
dulgence proved  inoperative,  and  at  length  the 
brown  habits  and  bare  heads  and  feet  were  sent 
about  their  business.  "  II  Deserto  "  became  a  for- 
saken shrine,  and  remained  unoccupied  for  many 
years,  until  a  widowed  Countess  of  the  noble  House 

7 


96    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

received  the  estate  as  a  mortuary  bequest — Eliza- 
betta  Morosoni-Dandolo,  herself  a  Venetian  of 
lofty  and  renowned  descent. 

From  the  windows  of  the  villa, — a  reformed 
monastery,  indeed, — the  eye  looks  right  over  the 
rising  ground  of  Pogliana,  right  on  to  the  white 
viUas  which  peep  out  of  the  beautiful  boskets  of 
Bisuschio — the  fashionable  suburb  of  Varese 
town.  It  is  a  land  of  olives,  magnolias,  vines,  and 
pomegranates,  a  land,  too,  of  buxom  mothers  and 
graceful  daughters.  The  menfolk,  plain  and 
simple,  are  noble  in  their  bearing,  and  industrious 
and  peaceful  in  their  habits.  They  are  well- 
to-do. 

n. — VARESE. 

"  Le  Belle  del  Varesotto  /"  is  how  natives  of 
Varese  and  the  visitors  speak  of  the  lovely  scenery 
and  delightful  cHmate  of  the  lake  casket  of  Varese, 
with  all  the  other  enchantments  of  its  treasures. 
It  is  perhaps  a  little  difficult  exactly  to  place  the 
orthography  of  the  place-name,  but  in  the  mytho- 
logical conceit  of  the  patronage  of  the  celestial 
goddesses,  which  is  so  clearly  indicative  of  her 
sister  lakes,  great  and  small,  no  better  nor  more 
attractive  cult  may  be  found  than  that  of 
"  Astraea,"  and  the  milky  way  of  the  gods. 
Varese  is,  indeed,  not  the  only  starlike  expanse  of 


"  CERESIO ''  97 

liquid  moonshine  in  that  fair  plain  of  shimmering 
waters — three  other  lakelets,  like  the  Pleiades  for 
lustre,  lend  their  brilliant  charm  to  the  scenery. 
Biandronno,  Monate,  and  Comabbio — they  form 
a  flashing  aqueous  constellation,  as  though  portions 
of  the  starlit  sky  had  been  detached  and  fixed  in 
verdant  landlocked  frames.  The  Romans  had 
an  alternative  designation  for  the  seven  briUiant 
stars — '*  Vergilice^^ — perhaps  Varese  is  a  corrupt 
form  thereof  ;  anyhow,  it  is  sufficiently  near  in 
derivation  to  illustrate  the  conjunction  of  the  stars 
and  planets  in  the  Pleiadesian  corruscation  which 
flashlights  the  Varese  plain  of  lakes. 

Very  quaint  is  the  description  of  this  chain  of 
charming  lakes  in  the  "  Encyclopaedia  Brittanica  " : 
"  South  of  Varese  are  two  small  lakes, — ^Uke  Erba 
and  Pusiano,  between  Como  and  Lecco, — of 
similar  character,  and  scarcely  worthy  of  notice  !" 
But  those  who  know  the  Varesian  Lakeland  think 
and  speak  very  differently. 

Three  miles  south  of  Porto  Ceresio,  in  the  lovely 
Val  Brivio,  is  the  picturesque  commune  of  Bisu- 
schio,  with  wellnigh  countless  villas  and  gardens 
of  the  "  Lords  and  Ladies  "  of  Varese,  and  beyond, 
Nature  and  Art  have  entered  into  partnership  to 
create  and  enrich  a  terrestrial  paradise,  which  is 
hardly  surpassed  by  other  beauty  spots.  One  of 
the  most  charming  of  these  country  resorts  is 


98    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

undoubtedly  Villa  Cicogna-Mozzoni,  belonging 
now  to  the  Counts  of  that  twice  ennobled  family, 
with  its  superb  views  over  Lake  Lugano  and  the 
tiurrounding  country.  The  villa,  which  is  in  the 
somewhat  severe  style  of  Tuscan  architecture, 
and  for  all  the  world  might  be  a  Medici  residence 
wafted  over  the  hills  and  far  away  from  Florence, 
is  not  without  historical  interest.  In  the  twelfth 
century  a  monastery  was  founded  upon  the  site 
by  the  Papal  See  for  the  purpose  of  affording 
seclusion  to  ecclesiastical  dignitaries  and  other 
persons  of  position  who  had  misused  the  world  to 
their  own  undoing,  and,  euphemistically  speaking, 
were  cultivating  hohness  in  retirement.  When 
the  Dukes  of  Milan  began  to  stretch  themselves 
abroad,  the  valley  and  fruit-covered  hillsides  of 
Bisuschio  attracted  their  attention,  stocked  as 
they  were  with  bear  and  deer,  and  many  more 
wild  things.  The  monastic  buildings  at  length 
were  seized  by  the  Sforzas,  and  Duke  Giovanni 
Galeazzo  converted  the  cloister  into  a  very  com- 
modious hunting-box  ;  and  through  those  hallowed 
haUs  and  courtyards  trooped  sportsmen  with  their 
dogs.  Their  hunting  cries  and  the  music  of  the 
hounds  quite  drowned  the  echoes  of  the  chants  of 
Holy  Church.  The  mountain  streams  and  rivulets, 
which  danced  gracefully  down  the  flowery  slopes 
of  the  Campo  di  Fiori  into  the  valley,  were  broken 


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"  CERESIO  ''  99 

into  little  pools  stocked  as  full  as  full  could  be  with 
trout  and  other  toothsome  fish.  The  monkish 
rule  of  catching  their  Friday's  dinner  on  Thursday- 
gave  way  to  the  constant  whipping  of  the  stream, 
and  the  trout  of  Bisuschio  rivalled  that  of 
Garda  in  the  estimation  of  lordly  epicures.  The 
dehciously  shady-sunlit  artificial  fishing  lake  of 
Fraschirolo  was  formed  by  Antonio  de'  Medici, 
the  friend  of  Giovanni  Galeazzo  Sforza,  and  there 
ladies  fair  and  ladies  frail  joined  the  sportsmen 
with  rod  and  gun,  with  hawk  and  hound. 

In  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  century  the 
estate,  or  at  least  the  hunting-box,  passed  into  the 
possession  of  the  family  of  Mozzoni  of  Milan. 
Francesco  and  Massimo  Mozzoni  built  the  villa 
and  employed  the  Campi  brothers,  and  other 
Lombard  artists,  to  decorate  the  walls  of  the 
cortili,  and  open  loggie  with  frescoes  in  the  grace- 
ful manner  of  Leonardo  da  Vinci  and  Bernardino 
Luini.  The  Mozzoni  intermarried  with  the 
Cicogne,  who  were  descended  in  the  female  line 
from  the  Sforzas.  The  fairy-like  gardens  are  due 
to  Ascanio  Mozzoni,  whose  order  to  his  garden- 
architects  was  :  "I  wish  to  hear  running  water 
everywhere,  and  to  behold  trees  growing  on 
terraces."  Hence  is  due  the  erection  of  what  was 
strictly  called  "  il  castello  d^acqua,**  where  one  walks 
under  and  over  fountains  of  water,  with  water 


100    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

spurting  and  springing  on  all  sides.  Hanging 
woods  and  pendant  arbours  deceive  the  eye,  for  the 
floral  trees  and  fragrant  shrubs  appear  to  grow 
right  out  of  marble  balustrades  and  sculptured 
basins — a  Renaissance  Babylon  of  delights  ! 

The  thriving  town  of  Varese,  which  is  at  some 
distance  from  the  lake,  is  of  ancient  origin. 
Etruscan,  Roman,  and  Lombardian  reHcs  keep 
cropping  up  ;  but  its  preferential  history  dates  from 
the  beginning  of  the  fourteenth  century,  when  the 
fief  was  held  in  chief  by  the  Archbishop  of  Milan. 
When  matters  went  hard  with  the  Guelphs,  and 
with  churchmen  generally,  the  powerful  family  of 
the  Torriani  acquired  it  under  FiHppo  delle 
Torre.  Then  chance  of  feud  and  war  gave  it 
to  FiHppo  Visconti,  whose  family  in  turn  relegated 
it  to  the  Cani,  in  the  person  of  Count  Facino  Cane. 
The  Church  of  San  Vittore  was  built  by  the  Sforzas 
in  1580.  Varese  has  always  been  an  especially 
favourite  viUegiatura  of  wealthy  Milanese,  whose 
villas  peep  out  on  aU  sides  of  the  town  from  imder 
the  well-grown  chestnuts  and  limes.  Charles  V. 
bestowed  the  "  Seigneurie  "  of  Varese  in  1768  upon 
Duke  Francesco  Maria  d'  Este  of  Modena,  who 
kept  royal  state  in  La  Corte, — as  his  huge  palace  was 
called, — for  twelve  busy  years,  with  the  honorary 
title  of  Governor  of  Lombardy.  La  Corte,  in  the 
Square  of  San  Giovanni,  in  Via  Luigi  Sacco,  was 


"CERESIO"  101 

acquired  by  the  Duke  along  with  its  grounds  from 
two  wealthy  inhabitants  of  the  town,  Tommaso 
Orrigone  and  Pietro  Talamone,  together  with 
a  considerable  extent  of  land  in  the  Val  de' 
Nicogni. 

The  Duke  had  married  many  years  before, — 
for  he  was  a  septuagenarian  at  the  time  of  the 
purchase  of  the  estate, — Renata  Teresa,  widow 
of  Prince  Antonio  Maria  Melzi,  by  whose  will  she 
obtained  the  life  interest  in  an  immense  property. 
Francesco  Maria  d'  Este  married  her,  of  course, 
for  her  money,  for  she  was  of  unequal  birth,  and 
a  foreigner, — an  Austrian  of  the  middle-class 
family  of  von  Harrach.  Whether  she  accom- 
panied the  Duke  to  Varese,  or  whether  she  was 
dead,  appears  to  be  uncertain.  At  any  rate,  she 
was  not  at  La  Corte  when  the  Emperor  Joseph 
paid  a  memorable  visit  to  the  Duke  at  Varese  in 
1769.  The  villa, — it  was,  indeed,  a  palace, — 
amazed  his  Imperial  Majesty.  He  had  never 
beheld,  as  he  admitted,  anything  so  magnificent. 
"  I  thought,"  said  he,  "  when  I  approached  the 
Duke's  stables  I  was  at  the  palace,  and  I  wondered 
what  the  ducal  residence  would  be  like  if  the 
housing  of  his  stud  was  on  so  grand  a  scale."  To 
do  the  honours  during  the  Emperor's  visit,  Duke 
Francesco  had  the  assistance  of  his  daughter, 
Beatrice  d'  Este, — the  child  of  a  former  marriage, — 


m    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

and  of  the  most  beautiful  and  most  brilliant  woman 
of  the  Modenese  Court,  the  Countess  Teresa 
Trivulzio-Saluzai. 

The  ducal  suite  was  as  numerous  and  as  dis- 
tinguished as  that  of  any  reigning  sovereign. 
His  Master  of  Horse  was  Count  Clemente  Bagnesi ; 
the  Controller  of  the  Household,  Count  Giulio 
Cesare  Vezzani ;  the  Ducal  Keeper  of  the  Purse, 
Count  Gaspare  Sanseverino ;  the  Chamberlain 
of  the  Court,  Marquis  Gianpietro  Amori ;  the 
Marshal  of  Ceremonies,Marquis  Sebastiano  Tibaldi; 
and  the  Govemante,  Princess  Maria  Melzi,  sister- 
in-law  of  the  Duke's  wife.  Equerries,  pages, 
footmen,  and  all  the  ranks  of  princely  attendants 
were  more  numerous  than  at  the  Emperor's 
Court.  These  and  a  full  staff  of  domestics  re- 
quired commodious  quarters,  and  consequently 
the  original  villa  was  quadrupled  and  more  in  size 
to  house  them  all.  The  Varese  people  looked  on 
amazed  at  this  magnificence,  but  shrewdly  tapped 
their  pockets,  for  the  presence  of  so  many  "  Lords 
and  Ladies  of  the  Lake"  meant  oof  and  pelf  for 
them.  During  the  Imperial  visit,  and  frequently 
enough  afterwards,  the  Duke  kept  open  house : 
every  individual  who  ventured  through  the  park 
gates  was  sumptuously  entertained  and  his  cattle 
foddered.  Never  were  there  such  doings  and  such 
junkettings    in    all  that  country-side.     Operatic 


"  CERESIO  '*  103 

performances,  musical  parties,  hunting  breakfasts, 
picnics  in  the  woods,  f^tes  galants  in  the  gardens, 
balls,  banquets,  and  masquerades  made  time  pass 
madly  and  merrily. 

The  Duke  himseK,  though  past  the  time  when 
vigorous  men  divide  their  time  betwixt  love  and 
sport,  flirted  with  all  the  fair  damsels  of  the  com- 
pany, and  rode  forth  at  the  head  of  his  hounds. 
Few  could  fly  hawk  or  hook  fish  more  deftly  than 
His  Highness  ;  but  the  younger  sparks  grumbled 
at  "  an  old  man  still  juvenile,"  and  behind  his  back 
sneered,  grimaced,  and  cracked  untimely  jokes. 
The  appointments  of  the  suites  of  rooms  and  of 
the  convivial  boards  were  rare  and  costly.  The 
Duke  spared  no  expense  in  cultivating  gaiety  and 
extracting  joy.  To  say  he  kept  a  harem  would 
not  be  very  wide  of  the  mark  ;  at  all  events,  there 
were  no  prudes  at  Varese  !  In  person  Francesco 
Maria  was  very  presentable — tall,  well-made,  slim, 
active,  and  enthusiastic.  He  dressed  well,  usually 
in  a  white  and  gold  Austrian  uniform,  but  without 
orders,  except  on  State  occasions.  One  foible 
at  least  he  had — indeed,  he  had  many — the 
wearing  of  finger  rings.  Daily  he  changed  them, 
but  usually  he  wore  rings  together,  all  of  the 
same  description — diamonds  he  wore  on  Sundays 
and  festivals. 

The  day's  diary  at  La  Corte  was  strenuous  and 


104    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

varied.  The  Duke  rose  early,  and  first  of  all 
received  his  private  physician,  Dottore  Francesco 
Grossi,  a  practitioner  of  Varese.  Mass  found  him 
daily  as  an  assistant,  and  then  to  breakfast, 
partaken  of  privately  in  his  own  apartment. 
Official  interviews,  inspection  of  plans,  papers, 
and  personnel,  followed;  and  then,  before  the 
midday  meal  in  the  state  dining-room,  the  Duke 
was  accustomed  to  promenade  up  and  down  the 
grounds,  leaning  on  the  arm  of  some  pretty, 
sprightly  girl  or  other.  The  afternoon  was  spent 
in  excursions  in  his  cumbersome  berline,  drawn 
by  six  coal-black  horses.  The  Duke's  com- 
panions were,  as  he  called  them,  "  amorose  dame  e 
donzelle."  Reading,  cards  and  other  games  passed 
the  time  till  supper  was  announced.  One  ever- 
popular  form  of  recreation  was  a  water-party  on 
the  lake,  in  a  superb  gilded  and  painted  state 
barge^ — a  quasi  Bucentoro  of  Venice.  The  usual 
rendezvous  were  Gozzada,  to  the  villa  of  his 
friend  and  crony,  Giovanni  Perabo ;  and  Bisuchi, 
the  residence  of  another  congenial  comrade, 
Count  Francesco  Mozzoni.  There  were  always, 
as  a  sine  qua  non,  a  numerous  band  of  dainty 
damsels  waiting  to  welcome  the  gay  old  man,  and 
entertain  him  with  gossip,  dances,  and,  doubtless, 
kisses  not  a  few  !  After  the  day's  work  and  play 
were  over  and  supper  ended,  coffee,  and  conversa- 


"  CERESIO  '*  103 

tion,  and  more  cards,  and  gambling,  faro  for  choice, 
prepared  the  company  for  bed,  and  none  were 
supposed  to  be  otherwise  than  within  their  rooms 
when  the  great  palace  clock  struck  eleven.  On 
Church  festivals  the  Duke  and  all  his  Court  made 
a  point  of  hearing  Mass  at  the  Chapel  of  San 
Bartolommeo,  at  the  Castellanza  or  Casterino, 
where  he  erected  his  own  marble  monument ; 
and  then  all  Hstened,  devoutly  of  course,  to  the 
affecting  sermon  of  the  Capuccini  monks.  This 
function  was  made  the  occasion  of  perfervid 
music  ;  and  the  Duke's  chief  musicians, — Piccinini, 
Guzzangani,  Parseilles,  Cimarosa,  and  Zucchinetei, 
— were  put  upon  their  metal  to  compose  and 
conduct  novelties  appropriate  to  time  and  place. 
In  Varese  the  Teatro  Ducale  was  the  home  of  the 
Muses, — and  between  1779  and  1790,  under  Duke 
Francesco  Maria's  hearty  patronage,  its  fame 
eclipsed  that  of  the  famous  Scala  in  Milan.  It  is 
interesting  to  record  that  the  Opera  of  Barbiere 
di  Sevigho  made  its  first  appearance  at  the  Ducal 
Theatre  in  1818.  Many  other  notable  premieres 
found  in  Varese  their  start  for  success  and  popu- 
larity. The  spacious  days  of  the  Duke  of  Modena 
and  Count  of  Varese  closed  all  too  briefly.  In 
1780  the  splendid  master  of  the  revels  was  laid 
to  his  rest  in  the  tomb  which  he  prepared,  and 
other  men  and  manners  ruled  La  Corte. 


106    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

Midway  between  Varese  and  Milan  is  Saronno, 
with  its  wonderful  gingerbread  and  still  more 
wonderful  Church  of  Santa  Maria  de'  Miracoli, 
— the  temple  of  honour  of  Bernardino  Luini  and 
Gaudenzio  J'errari, — ^both  strictly  "  Lords  of  the 
Lakes "  ;  the  former  born  at  Luino  on  Lake 
Maggiore,  the  latter  at  Valduggia,  twenty  miles 
from  Novara.  Both  were  devout  men,  pains- 
taking pupils  of  their  common  master,  and  in 
many  ways  examples  to  their  fellows.  The  church, 
also  known  as  ''II  Santuario  delta  Beata  Vergine," 
is  an  early  Renaissance  structure  of  the  years 
1480  to  1490,  with  an  imposing  dome  and  a  lofty 
campanile  of  the  first  decade  of  the  sixteenth 
century.  Its  origin  was  very  picturesque.  In 
1460  a  little  distance  from  Saronno,  on  the  road 
from  Varese,  stood  a  simple  shrine  with  an  ancient 
sculptured  figure  of  the  Virgin  Mary  and  the  Child 
Jesus.  Much  neglected,  ruinous,  and  overgrown 
with  weeds  and  brambles,  few  gave  a  thought 
to  Mary  as  they  passed  that  way.  But  the  time 
of  restoration  drew  near.  The  story  runs  as 
follows  :  Pedretto,  a  peasant  farmer  in  the  plain 
of  Saronno,  bedridden  and  a  martyr  to  gout,  one 
night,  unable  to  endure  his  sufferings,  cried  bitterly 
to  Heaven  for  the  mitigation  of  his  misery.  All 
at  once  his  poor  bedchamber  was  brilliantly 
illuminated,  and  over  against  the  foot  of  the  bed 


FRANCESCO    MARIA    D     ESTfe,    SIGNORE    DI    VARESE,    1768.1< 
Prom  a  Painting  in  the  Municipal  I'alace,  Varese 


To  face  page  106 


•   •  •  •   • 


"  CERESIO  '*  107 

he  beheld  a  woman  of  celestial  beauty  and  dignity, 
who  thus  spoke  to  him  :  "  Pedretto,  poor  sufferer, 
if  thou  wilt  be  healed,  go  to  the  old  shrine  on  the 
Milan  road, — thou  knowest  well,  for  I  have  beheld 
thy  reverence  in  passing, — promise  there,  upon 
your  knees,  to  build  a  church  worthy  of  Blessed 
Mary,  and  means  to  do  so  shall  be  forthcoming." 

x\t  this  astounding  order  Pedretto  roused  him- 
self, shook  his  painful  limbs,  and  tumbled  out  of 
bed.  His  gout  had  vanished  !  He  salHed  forth, 
dark  as  it  was,  and  groped  his  way  to  the  ruined 
shrine,  and  spent  the  rest  of  the  night  in  prayer. 
Next  morning  he  wended  his  way,  without  any 
pain  or  difficulty,  to  the  village,  crying,  as  he 
approached  the  houses,  "  Uno  Miracolo  I  Uno 
MiracoloP''  People  ran  up  and  asked  him  what 
he  meant,  and  how  he  had  been  cured.  The  cry 
was  taken  up,  and  "  La  Madonna  della  Via 
Milanesi "  was  acclaimed  as  their  benefactress. 
Throngs  of  country  people  gathered  around  the 
shrine,  sick  and  hale,  and  all  who  followed 
Pedretto's  prayerful  example  went  home  sound 
and  saved.  Everyone  tossed  a  copper  or  two  to 
the  poor  old  fellow,  and  there  he  very  sapiently 
took  up  his  abode  in  a  hut  he  built  behind  the 
shrine,  and  held  his  hand  out  daily  for  contribu- 
tions to  the  building  fund. 

The  old  shrine  was  repaired  and  railed  in, — 
the  ii"on  treUis  is  still  preserved  in  the  portico  of 


108    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

the  new  church, — and  in  1498,  amidst  universal 
rejoicings,  the  foundation-stone  of  the  sanctuary 
was  laid.  The  ancient  statue  of  the  Virgin  was 
carefully  guarded  until,  on  September  10,  1581, 
San  Carlo  Borromeo  personally  removed  it  to  its 
present  position  over  the  tabernacle  of  the  high 
altar  of  Santa  Maria  de'  Miracoli.  To-day  the  sanc- 
tuary church  attracts  hosts  of  pilgrims  who  leave 
behind  pathetic  tokens  of  their  cure.  Ex-votos  have 
encroached  upon  the  frescoes  of  Luini  and  Ferrari. 

The  Madonna  del  Monte  over  against  the  town 
of  Varese,  attracts  countless  pilgrims  annually, 
who  make  the ''  Stations  of  the  Cross  "  from  chapel 
to  chapel  of  the  Sacred  Way.  The  fourteen  chapels 
have  seventeenth  -  century  groups  and  frescoes 
illustrating  the  mysteries  of  the  Rosary.  Bernabo 
Visconti  in  1371  endowed  the  Cappellano  a 
hermit  priest.  A  century  later,  Galeazzo  Maria 
Sforza,  mauled  when  hunting  bear  in  the  surround- 
ing forests,  was  carried  to  the  Sanctuary  to  hear 
Mass  and  register  a  vow  for  recovery.  Lodovico 
il  Moro  frequently  made  the  sacred  mount  his 
retreat  from  strife  and  worry,  and  when  Duchess 
Beatrice  died,  he  endowed  five  hundred  Masses 
for  the  repose  of  her  soul.  He  and  she  had  made 
many  costly  offerings  to  the  altar — rich  palli, 
altar  frontals,  and  altar  vessels.  Some  of  these 
gifts  are  still  treasured  by  the  clergy  sacristans. 

It  is  certainly  rather  a  tour  de  force  to  descend 


"  CERESIO  '*  109 

from  these  sublimities  to  things  of  modern  days. 
Still,  Italians  are  nothing  if  they  are  not  go-ahead. 
One  of  the  most  sumptuous  of  the  villas  of  Varese 
is  that  of  Marchese  Ponti, — who,  by  the  way,  has 
just  vacated  the  post  of  syndic,  or  mayor.  The 
origin  of  the  family  and  the  foundation  of  its 
fortunes  form  a  romance  of  financial  possibilities. 
The  grandfather  of  the  present  Marquis  was  an 
obscure  tradesman  in  Varese — a  saddler  and  job- 
master— but  quite  in  a  small  way.  Reading  his 
weekly  journal,  his  eye  caught  news  of  the  *'  cotton 
corners "  in  America  and  England.  Tempted 
to  speculate,  he  corresponded  with  an  agent  in 
Milan,  through  whom  he  acquired  shares  in  the 
cargoes  of  blockade-running  cotton  ships.  Be- 
ginning quite  modestly,  he  at  last  achieved  a 
record,  for  he  became  the  holder  of  fifty  thousand 
bales  of  best  quahties,  and  was  thus  enabled  to 
hold  up  the  market.  He  sold  his  stock  at  a  huge 
profit — some  said  as  much  as  five  hundred  dollars 
per  bale  ;  at  all  events,  Signore  Ponti  was  able 
to  set  up  in  his  native  town  as  a  wealthy  landowner, 
and  exchanged  the  style  of  commoner  for  that 
of  Marquis.  He  built  the  Villa  Ponti,  and  there 
entertained  King  Victor  Emmanuele  II.,  whose 
friendship  he  enjoyed  through  hberal  gifts  to 
patriotic  objects.  To-day  the  Marquis  Ponti  is 
an  honoured  friend  of  the  third  Italian  I^ng,  and 
a  generous  benefactor  of  his  native  town. 


CHAPTER  III 

"LARIO" 
THE   LAKE   OP  COMO 

"  Lario," — first    named    by    travelled,    warlike 

Romans  Lacus  Larius, — is  Venus  of  the  Lakes. 

The  very  conformation  of  the  lake  sets  forth  the 

goddess's   beauteous   form,    and   the   sights   and 

sounds   and   scents   of  her   shores   proclaim  the 

artifices  of  her  boudoir.     The  name,  it  is  said, 

comes  from  Etruscan  sources,  and  implies  primacy, 

and  in  Latin  times  Como  was  the  premier  lake  in 

Italy.     One  other  derivation,  maybe  too  fanciful, 

connects  "  Lario "'  with   "  Lares/'  and  indicates 

the  Latin  pendant  to  Greek  Olympus,  the  stately 

Court  of   gods  and  goddesses — the  happy  retreat 

of  pleasures  unalloyed.     The  name  "  Como  "  may, 

after  all,  be  more  antique  than  "  Lario,"  for  a 

considerable  authority.  Count  Benedetto  Giovio, — 

one  of  the  city's  most  famous  sons, — sees  the 

derivation    in    the   Greek   word    "  Kome  '"—The 

Town — and     Greeks    may    quite    as    well    have 

reached  "  the  most  beauteous  banks  of  all "  as 

they  did  the  "  banks  of  marshy  Rhone." 

110 


"LARIO"  HI 

"  In  seno  i  saori 
Vasi  celando,  sugli  ignudi  scogli 
Nuova  Patria  fondava,  e  dell'  autica 
Da  Varenna  scorgea  rultimo  fumo."* 

In  his  letter  to  Rufus,  Caius  Pliny  writes  thus 
effusively  of  this  lovely  lake  :  "  How  fares  Co  mo, 
our  common  joy  ?  How  is  the  charming  villa, 
the  vernal  portal,  the  shady  avenue  of  planes, 
the  waterway  ever  green  and  jewelled,  the  path- 
ways soft  yet  firm,  the  sun-warmed  bath,  the 
arbours  both  for  company  and  for  seclusion,  the 
quiet  nooks  for  siesta  and  for  sleep  ?"  And  yet 
Como  is  not  for  dolce  far  niente  only.  "  It  is,"  a 
writer  in  the  eighteenth  century  says,  "  well 
known  that  every  lake  is  the  fruitful  mother  of 
industries,  but  there  is  no  instance  in  which  any 
other  has  produced  so  many  or  so  famous."  No 
lacustrine  people  of  to-day  are  more  busy  and  more 
enterprising  than  those  of  Como.  Great  sailing 
barges  drop  leisurely  down  the  lake ;  heavily  laden 
market  carts  on  shore  creak  with  weighty  loads, 
and  women's  heads  bear  up  colossal  burdens.  Fish, 
flesh,  fowl,  fruit,  foliage,  and  forage — such  form 
the  staples  of  the  trade.  Fisherfolk  compete  with 
country   peasants   in   daily   profitable   toil,    and 

*  "  Conceiv'd  in  the  heart — ark  of  sanctity 

A  new  country  forth  comes  right  gloriously  ; 

Of  the  old  world  and  its  grand  moods  and  manners 

Is  wafted  the  fame  beyond  Varenna." 

8 


112    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

every  native  is  at  any  moment  quite  free  to  earn 
the  stranger's  gold  and  render  pleasant  service. 

No  other  lake  anywhere  offers  so  many  attrac- 
tions and  inducements  for  boating,  but  the 
boatman  must  be  untrammelled  by  directions. 
Eecline  at  ease,  and  look  and  list  and  smell,  and 
worry  not  for  train  or  meal  or  bed.  Floating  upon 
the  emerald  glory,  each  vision  is  a  miracle — dreamy 
distant  peaks,  near  forest  and  precipice,  inviting 
grottoes  and  ravmes,  with  castellated  crags  and 
ensconced  villages,  white  churches  and  campaniles 
with  sweet-sounding  bells,  and  all  the  delicious 
scents  of  the  rarest  potpourri  are  treasure-trove 
for  all.  At  sunset  or  at  sunrise  angels'  robes  and 
wings,  ever  whirling  in  graceful  dance,  float  in 
coloured  pageantry  across  the  sky,  and  all  the 
prismatic  tints  are  shot  like  rainbows  everywhere. 
There  is  an  unseen  world,  it  is  true,  and  on  the 
Lake  of  Como  things  are  made  clear  to  human 
vision  which  are  dim  and  obscure  elsewhere. 

"  A  thing  of  beauty  is  a  joy  for  ever." 


I. 

Before  exploring  the  stories  and  beauties  of  the 
Lake  of  Como,  the  city  claims  the  attention  of 
students  and  lovers  of  romance.  Greeks,  Romans, 
and   Lombards   in   turn   laid   and   destroyed  its 


"LARIO"  113 

foundations  and  its  prosperity.  The  blood  of 
martyrs  crimsoned  the  lovely  Monte  Baradillo, 
but  when  St.  Ambrose  consecrated  St.  Felice  first 
Bishop  of  the  See,  the  land  had  peace.  The 
*'  choral  Father "  had,  too,  a  ready  wit ;  for, 
when  FeUce  sent  him  one  day  a  goodly  basketful 
of  toothsome  truffles,  a  speciality  of  the  Larian 
woodland,  he  replied  epigrammatically : — "Beware, 
my  brother,  lest  you  find  truffles  of  sorrow, — for 
the  word  has  a  double  meaning, — pleasant  enough 
as  a  gift, — for  which  I  thank  you, — but  disagree- 
able as  regards  our  bodily  and  spiritual  infirmities." 
In  the  twelfth  century  fratricidal  war  between 
Como  and  Milan  made  of  the  former  a  second 
Troy — albeit  we  lack  the  name  of  a  Lombard 
*'  Helen."  Then  a  triangular  contest  sprang  up 
between  Papal  nominees  for  the  bishopric,  and  the 
Monte  and  the  city  were  again  baptized  with  blood. 
Fleets  of  warships,  built  by  Como,  Lecco,  and  the 
Tre  Pievesi, — the  three  northern  lakeside  parishes, 
— strove  for  mastery  of  the  deep.  The  great 
Como  ships,  ^^ Lwpo,''  '^ Scorrobiessa/'  and'' Schifo,'* 
were  sunk,  and  the  sacred  floating  "  Carroccio  "  was 
lost,  with  its  precious  guard  of  comely  youths. 

The  Torriani,  the  Visconti,  the  Lecchi,  and  others 
carried  over  the  smiling  waters  of ''  Lario  "  the  torch 
of  war.  Napoleone  della  Torre  and  his  three  brave 
sons  were  captured  and  thrust  into  iron  cages  in 


114    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

the  Castello  di  Baradillo.  Bereft  of  hope,  de- 
voured by  vermin,  and  insulted  by  the  common 
folk,  the  gallant  but  unfortunate  leader  dashed 
out  his  brains  against  his  cruel  bars. 

The  story  of  the  first  recorded  heroine  of  Como 
is  told  by  the  elder  Pliny, — with  his  nephew  Caius, 
— a  citizen  of  Como.  "  Sailing,"  he  writes,  "  lately 
upon  our  lake  with  an  old  acquaintance,  he  called 
my  attention  to  a  mansion  above  the  shore  by  the 
city.  '  From  that  room,'  he  said,  pointing  to  a 
lofty  chamber,  '  a  woman  threw  herself  and  her 
husband.  He  suffered  with  a  terrible  cancer, 
which  caused  intolerable  agony.  Finding  no  hope 
of  recovery,  she  advised  him  to  put  an  end  to  his 
life,  but  when  he  demurred  she  encouraged  him 
by  her  own  fortitude,  for,  tying  herself  and  him 
together,  she  plunged  with  him  into  the  deep 
water.'  "  PHny  was  not  only  a  romancer — he 
was  a  benefactor,  too,  and  initiated,  perhaps,  the 
earliest  Free  School  in  Lombardy,  standing  surety 
for  a  third  of  the  cost. 

From  Pliny's  day  to  Garibaldi's  is  indeed  a 
wide,  wide  span,  and  yet  woman's  grit  and  self- 
sacrifice  is  as  conspicuous  now  as  it  was  two 
thousand  years  ago.  There  came  a  day  when  the 
"  Liberator  "  was  in  danger  of  capture  at  Cavel- 
lesca,  a  mountain  village  above  the  city  of  Como. 
When  the  menfolk  dared  not  communicate  with 


"LARIO"  115 

Garibaldi  and  tell  him  of  his  peril,  "  Bianea," — as 
she  was  called  in  the  village  on  account  of  her  fair 
hair, — feared  not  to  extricate  him  from  his  danger- 
ous position.  When  a  truce  was  signed  the  hero 
rode  over  to  thank  his  protectrice,  and  then,  by- 
one  of  Fortune's  unexpected  happenings,  an 
accident  caused  his  detention  in  her  father's 
house.  Three  weeks'  delightful  ministry  could 
only  have  one  result — a  proposal  of  marriage, 
which  "  Bianea  "  reluctantly  accepted.  A  wed- 
ding was  hastily  arranged  at  Varese,  but  before 
the  nuptial  day  closed  the  bride, — so  much  younger 
than  her  hero  spouse, — eloped  with  her  village 
lover,  who  had  followed  the  pair  from  Cavellesca. 
*'  Bianea  "  lived  to  repent  of  her  breach  of  troth, 
and  became  the  ardent  admirer  of  her  one-day 
groom.  It  was  said  that  she  pressed  Garibaldi  to 
acknowledge  her  in  spite  of  her  lapse,  but  he 
refused  ! 

The  situation  of  the  city  of  Como  is  exquisite. 
She  is  like  a  costly  jewel  set  in  a  rich  casket.  Her 
villas,  her  churches,  and  her  gardens  are  all  en- 
closed in  a  splendid  amphitheatre.  Nature  and  Art 
have  combined  to  make  theLarian  capital  a  beauty- 
spot,  and  then  her  outlook  on  the  lake  is  a  dream 
of  loveliness  impossible  to  put  in  words.  The 
story  of  her  people, — nobles  and  citizens, — is 
reflected  in  the  deep  green  water  and  upon  the 


116    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

verdure  of  her  shores,  for  out  of  her  came  most  of 
those  builders  who  have  decked  her  outskirts  with 
paradises  in  miniature. 

Of  all  the  villas  and  their  stories  which  embellish 
the  Larian  "  Court  of  Venus/'  perhaps,  to  EngUsh- 
speaking  travellers  and  students.  Villa  d'  Este  at 
Cernobbio  presents  the  greatest  interest.  It  was 
erected  by  members  of  the  Comacine  family  of 
Galli :  Cardinal  Tolomeo  GaUio,  in  1568,  completing 
the  work.  He  died  in  1607,  and  bequeathed  the 
estate  to  his  nephew  Tolomeo,  Duca  di  Vito,  who 
in  turn  gave  it  at  his  death  to  the  religious  Order 
of  Jesuits.  The  Fathers  held  it  for  one  hundred 
and  sixty  years,  and  then  let  the  villa  to  Count 
Mario  Odescalchi.  The  family  of  Marriani  took 
up  the  tenancy  until  General  Marliano  bought  the 
property  right  out,  greatly  improved  it,  and 
restored  the  villa.  The  next  owner  was  the 
Marchese  Calderara,  who,  dying  in  early  manhood, 
left  the  delightful  possession  to  his  young  widow, 
Marchesa  Vittoria,  who  called  it  Villa  d'  Erba. 
Her  tears  and  regrets  were  many  and  sincere,  but 
youth  and  beauty  cannot  long  wear  widow's 
weeds,  and  the  Marchesa  gave  her  hand, — we  must 
hope  her  heart  as  well, — to  General  Count  Do- 
menico  Pino, — one  of  Buonaparte's  lieutenants, — 
and  they  added  to  the  villa  a  convent  for  Benedic- 
tine nuns.    Again  widowed,  the  Marchesa,  after 


"LARIO"  117 

much  pressure,  in  1815  sold  the  villa  she  so  greatly 
loved  for  150,000  livres,  to  the  representatives  of 
the  Princess  of  Wales,  and  she  changed  the  villa's 
name  to  Villa  d'  Este.  The  story  of  the  Princess's 
life  at  Cemobbio  has  been  told  and  often,  but  a 
good  story  does  not  suffer  by  repetition,  and  there 
are  points  in  the  narrative  which  stand  in  need 
of  just  appreciation — biographical  history  is  the 
most  prejudiced  form  of  literature. 

Having  nothing  whatever  to  do  with  mere 
stodgy  facts  of  history,  nor  with  party  views  of 
poHtics,  we  can  at  once  take  up  the  story  of 
Princess  Caroline  at  the  point  when  it  first  ap- 
proaches the  pageant  ground  of  the  Italian  Lakes. 
Upon  August  9,  1814,  the  Princess  embarked  at 
the  port  of  Worthing  in  the  frigate  "  Saxon  "  on  her 
way  home  to  Brunswick.  She  had  been  separated 
from  her  Consort  eighteen  years,  and,  although 
her  character  was  completely  vindicated  and  she 
was  declared  innocent  of  all  scandalous  charges, 
the  Prince  refused  to  have  anything  more  to  do 
with  her.  She  was  very  unhappy  at  the  gossipy 
little  German  ducal  Court,  and  set  off  to  see  some- 
thing of  the  world  and  find  comfort  amid  new 
scenes.  Her  steps  were  first  directed  to  Naples, 
where  the  small  suite  of  Enghsh  attendants  left 
her,  and  she  was  obhged  to  fill  their  places  with 
Italians,  and  of  these  Count  Antonio  Schiavoni 


118    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

became  her  secretary.  Her  itinerary  took  the 
Princess  to  Elba,  Corsica,  and  Sicily.  Thence  she 
sailed  to  the  Barbary  coast,  to  Palestine,  Greece, 
and  Malta,  and  returned  to  Naples,  and  on  to 
Terracina  in  the  Pontine  Marshes,  and  so  to 
Eome.  Everywhere  she  went  she  acted  as  the 
proverbial  good  fairy — visiting  sick  and  poor, 
and  distributing  largesse.  At  Agosta  in  Sicily  her 
name  is  still  spoken  with  reverence — ''  La  huona 
Principessa,"  Travelling  north,  she  sojourned  at 
Leghorn,  Genoa,  and  Milan.  Prom  the  latter 
city  the  Princess  made  excursions  through  the 
plain  and  the  lakeland  of  Lombardy,  with  a  view 
to  renting  or  buying  a  residence.  The  Lake  of 
Como  charmed  her  most :  "Its  delicious  climate, 
the  surrounding  country,  varied  and  lovely." 
Quite  fortuitously  she  learnt  that  the  very  viUa, 
which  more  than  any  other  upon  those  delectable 
shores  attracted  her,  was  available  at  Cemobbio. 
"  Its  garden  seems  almost  suspended  in  the  air, 
and  forms  a  scene  of  complete  enchantment,"  so 
she  noted  in  her  diary. 

Almost  the  first  improvement  of  the  property 
undertaken  by  the  Princess  was  the  planting  of  a 
double  avenue  of  limes  and  horse-chestnuts  along 
the  lakeside  past  the  villa  Tavernarola,  beyond 
the  mouth  of  the  Breggia,  to  within  two  miles  of 
the  city  of  Como.     The  idea  in  her  mind  was  to 


QUEEN    CAROLINE    AT    VILLA    I)'    ESTE 

SIB   THOMAS   LAWRENCE 

Victoria  and  Albert  Museum 


To  face  paflre  118 


•  •      c        •    c      c 


"LARIO"  119 

rival  the  famous  avenue  in  Bushey  Park.  The 
Princess  greatly  enlarged  the  villa,  laid  out  an 
EngUsh  garden,  made  marble  landing-stages  for 
her  barges  and  canoes,  and  annexed  the  Villa  del 
Garrovo,  built  by  Count  Resta  at  the  end  of  the 
eighteenth  century.  She  established  a  Court,  and 
surrounded  herself  with  appointments  suitable  to 
her  rank.  Her  chief  lady  of  honour  was  the 
Contessa  Oldi  of  Cremona — estimable  alike  for  her 
amiable  qualities  and  her  heroism  under  misfor- 
tunes. Doctor  Augustino  Mochetti  of  Como, — 
formerly  Professor  of  Botany,  Agriculture,  and 
Natural  History  in  the  University  of  Pavia, — she 
appointed  her  physician-in-ordinary ;  Captain 
Robert  Hannam  of  the  British  Royal  Navy  and 
Knight  of  the  Brunswick  Order  of  Caroline,  shared 
Count  Schiavoni's  duties  as  English  secretary  to 
Her  Royal  Highness, — a  man  she  praised  as 
"  remarkable  for  his  high  principles  and  undoubted 
devotion."  A  gallant  3"oung  Knight  of  her  Order, 
Monsieur  Alfonse  Guillanine,  was  named  Equerry, 
and  Signore  Vallotti  Pergami, — formerly  under- 
Prefect  of  Cremona, — became  Controller  of  her 
Household.  The  Princess  further  attached  to 
herself  many  notable  men  of  letters — Cavaliere 
Giovanni  Tommassia,  a  well-known  writer  on 
philosophy  and  political  economy  ;  Conte  Giro- 
lamo  Volta,  Cavaliere  Filippo  Vassalli,  with  Signori 


120    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

Fernando  Configliadro  and  Enrico  Cavalletti — men 
of  erudition  and  of  good  fame.  As  legal  adviser 
Signore  Giuseppe  Marocci  of  Milan, — well  known 
in  legal  circles  of  Lombardy, — joined  the  princely- 
suite.  The  Princess's  first  Chamberlain  was  Cava- 
liere  Bartolommeo  Pergami  of  Cremona — he  it 
was  whose  name  was  linked  with  that  of  his 
royal  mistress  in  the  banal  gossip  of  the  English 
Court. 

It  may  be  well  here  to  take  up  this  slander,  and 
vindicate  both  the  Princess  and  the  Cavaliere. 
He  was  said  to  have  been  of  low  origin,  impecunious, 
"but  fascinating  in  appearance  and  manner.  It  is 
true  that  he  had  lost  much  money  and  had  to  sell 
his  family  property  in  consequence  of  military 
exactions,  but  he  was  well  connected  and  had 
married  his  three  daughters  well.  He  had  himself 
been  on  the  staff  of  General  Count  Pino  in  the 
campaign  of  1812,  1813,  and  1814.  Caroline 
named  him  Knight  of  her  own  Order,  and  pro- 
cured for  him  a  barony  in  Sicily.  Upon  his 
daughters  she  conferred  many  favours,  and  they 
and  their  father  enjoyed  her  fullest  confidence. 
She  chose  the  Cavaliere  to  accompany  her  in  her 
equestrian  exercises,  and  at  all  times  treated  him 
with  unusual  familiarity,  which,  be  it  said,  he 
never  attempted  to  abuse.  "  Upon  the  arrival 
of  the  Princess  at  Cemobbio  rumours  were  circu- 


"LARIO"  121 

lated,"  writes  Madame  De  Mont,  a  devoted 
attendant,  "  unfavourable  to  her  private  life. 
Signs  of  levity  and  inconstancy  were  noted  in  her 
innocent  pleasures.  Her  affability  and  generosity 
were  stigmatized  as  indeUcate  and  corrupt.  Her 
simplicity  of  conduct  and  disHke  of  ostentation 
were  said  to  screen  caprice  and  secretiveness. 
She  was  accused  of  surrounding  herself  with  base- 
bom  Itahans,  who  might  the  more  readily  pander  to 
her  perverted  tastes.  On  the  other  hand  she  is 
accessible  to  all,  she  has  no  affectation  or  caprice, 
she  is  gentle  towards  everybody  irrespective  of 
rank  or  circumstances,  and  she  knows  not  how  to 
be  a  great  Princess  except  in  doing  good." 

This  amiable  writer  of  "  The  Journal "  goes  on 
to  say :  "  Many  persons  pretend  to  be  astonished 
she  does  not  receive  the  nobility  of  the  neighbour- 
hood. ...  It  is  true  she  has  not  sought  a  wide 
acquaintance  :  she  prefers  to  devote  herself  to  the 
members  of  her  household  and  to  the  poor  of  the 
district.  Still,  any  who  wish  to  be  presented  are 
always  received  with  distinction  and  courtesy. 
A  society  of  persons  of  estabUshed  probity,  a  table 
where  gaiety  and  hospitality  always  preside, 
musical  entertainments  and  private  theatricals, 
walking,  riding,  and  boating — such  are  her  innocent 
pleasures." 

The  Princess  deUghted  in  nothing  more  than  in 


122    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

popping  in  and  out  of  peasants'  cottages  on  the 
hillsides  and  fishermen's  huts  along  the  lake, 
conversing  with  the  simple-minded  mothers  and 
caressing  the  smiling  babies — all  swathed  in  their 
yards  and  yards  of  coarse  linen.  Her  visits  were 
as  unconventional  as  possible.  Dressed  very 
plainly  in  a  loose  robe  of  muslin  or  alpaca,  with  a 
light  silk  Como  scarf  thrown  across  her  shoulders, 
she  loved  to  wear  upon  her  head  a  coarse  brown 
straw  sunbonnet,  untrimmed  but  for  its  bow  of 
ribbon  or  its  knot  of  poppies.  Her  graceful  arms 
and  hands  were  covered  by  long  undressed  kid 
gloves,  and  she  wore  low  shoes  to  match.  Upon 
her  arm  she  invariably  carried  a  biggish  reticule 
filled  with  kitchen  delicacies  for  the  sick  and  poor, 
and  her  lady  carried  just  such  another  basket. 
Those  roomy  receptacles  ever  returned  empty 
to  the  villa.  What  the  Princess  looked  like  one 
may  judge  from  Sir  Thomas  Laurence's  well- 
known  portrait  of  her.  If  her  face  was  bonnie, 
her  heart  was  just  as  good.  Old  crones  told  their 
children  stories  of  "La  gimciosissima  Princi- 
pessa,^^  and  such  stories  linger  still  in  every  home 
in  and  around  Cernobbio. 

Shortly  after  Dr.  Holland  took  his  leave  of  the 
Princess,  in  1815,  an  infamous  plot  was  laid  against 
her  person  and  her  honour.  There  is  not  a  shadow 
of  a  doubt  but  that  it  originated  among  the  evil- 


"LARIO"  123 

conditioned  toadies  who  fanned  the  self-conceit 
of  the  Prince  of  Wales,  and  he,  shame  to  his 
memory,  took  no  steps  to  stop  the  slander  nor  to 
shield  his  wife's  character.  The  "  accomplice  in 
the  Princess's  misdemeanour,"  so  it  was  said,  was 
a  fascinating  young  Englishman — a  Mr.  William 
Burrell,  travelling  for  health  and  pleasure  in 
Lombardy.  Caroline  first  met  him  during  an  ex- 
cursion upon  the  lake  when  accidentally  her  barge 
and  the  young  man's  skiff  came  into  collision.  A 
favourite  spaniel,  which  was  upon  the  Princess's 
lap,  was  thrown  into  the  water,  and,  to  rescue  it 
in  response  to  its  mistress's  cries,  Burrell  jumped 
overboard  and  saved  the  pet.  The  episode  took 
place  quite  near  the  shore,  and  Caroline  insisted 
upon  the  gallant  rescuer  changing  his  clothes  at 
the  villa.  He  was  as  accomplished  as  good- 
looking,  and  the  Princess,  doubtless  weary  of  the 
monotony  of  her  life  and  of  the  want  of  brilliancy, 
perhaps,  in  her  immediate  attendants,  persuaded 
the  attractive  youth  to  join  her  in  excursions, 
attended  by  the  very  proper  Countess  Oldi.  One 
brief  month  saw  the  romance  ended,  for  young 
Burrell  became  ill,  and,  with  his  valet,  made  his 
way  home  to  England.  At  Brussels  tales  first  were 
rife  of  a  royal  liaison  :  the  valet  had  been  paid 
by  someone  to  watch  his  master  and  the  Princess, 
and    at    the    Belgian   capital  he  was  not  proof 


124    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

against  a  considerable  bribe  to  make  heavy  de- 
mands upon  his  imagination.  These  confidences 
came,  as  they  were  doubtless  intended  to  do,  to  the 
ears  of  the  Duke  and  Duchess  of  Cumberland, — 
then  on  their  way  to  England, — and  the  gossip 
filtered,  with  exaggerations  and  distortions,  through 
the  mouths  and  ears  of  the  royal  servants.  Lord 
Castlereagh, — that  most  despicable  of  Cabinet 
Ministers, — ever  seeking  for  materials  for  the 
manufacture  of  repressive  measures  against  the 
Princess,  seized  upon  the  slander  greedily. 

The  Prince  of  Wales  at  first  refused  to  hear 
the  chitter-chatter,  but  Castlereagh  so  inflamed 
his  prurient  mind  against  his  outraged  Consort 
that  the  Minister's  brother,  the  Lord  Charles 
Stuart,  was  sent  to  Milan  to  make  inquiries  on 
the  spot.  His  coming  was  entirely  unknown  to 
the  Princess,  and  he  carefully  avoided  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Cernobbio.  At  Milan  he  found  a 
villain  ready  to  hand  for  any  dirty  work,  Baron 
d'  Ompteda,  formerly  Minister  of  King  Jerome 
Buonaparte  at  the  Court  of  Vienna.  For  betraying 
State  secrets  and  for  irregularity  in  his  adminis- 
tration of  public  funds,  the  Baron  had  been  dis- 
missed, and,  mortified  beyond  expression,  he 
turned  his  eye  and  ear  to  any  ill-savoury  employ- 
ment against  exalted  personages.  Lord  Charles 
Stuart   interviewed   the   Baron,    and   placed   his 


"  LARIO  '•  125 

brother's  wishes  before  him,  giving  him  carte 
blanche  as  to  ways  and  means.  At  the  time  of 
this  despicable  conspiracy  Princess  CaroUne  was 
travelling  through  Lombardy  with  a  limited  suite, 
and,  upon  her  return  to  Milan,  she  was  amazed 
and  indignant  to  find  that  she  was  an  object  of 
close  police  surveillance. 

Baron  d'  Ompteda  had  well  used  the  absence 
of  the  Princess  from  her  villa.  He  had  been  there 
not  once  but  several  times,  had  conversed  with 
the  Italian  servants  left  in  charge,  and  by  large 
offers  of  money  sought  to  enUst  them  in  his 
nefarious  enterprise.  Every  man  and  woman 
with  indignation  resented  the  miscreant's  sug- 
gestions ;  they  were  the  staunch  and  devoted 
retainers  of  Her  Royal  Highness.  In  the  Princess's 
stables,  however,  he  discovered  a  German  groom, 
Moritz  Crede,  who  had  been  entrusted  with  the 
convoy  of  two  Hanoverian  horses, — a  present 
from  royal  sympathizers  of  the  Princess, — and 
had  been,  by  her  generosity,  allowed  to  remain 
and  enjoy  himself  at  Cernobbio.  This  fellow 
yielded  to  the  tempter,  and  undertook  to  introduce 
the  Baron  into  the  Princess's  private  apartments 
by  the  aid  of  false  keys.  As  chance  would  have 
it,  almost  the  first  thing  the  Princess  heard,  upon 
reaching  the  villa  after  her  travels,  was  a  com- 
plaint made  by  one  of  her  dressers,  Annetta, — a 


126    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

German  maid, — in  which  she  accused  Crede  of 
attempting  to  seduce  her.  CaroHne  sent  for  the 
man,  and,  having  confronted  him  with  the  girl, 
who  relented  of  her  confidence, — so  like  the  sex, — 
dismissed  him.  In  hopes  of  retaining  his  post 
in  the  royal  service  and  of  gaining  the  affections 
of  his  sweetheart,  Crede  made  a  fuU  confession 
of  his  part  in  the  Castlereaghian  plot. 

Writing  from  Como,  November,  3,  1816,  Crede 
gives  away  the  case  against  the  Baron.  "  I 
suffered  myself,"  he  says,  "to  be  seduced  and  to 
betray  the  best  of  mistresses.  It  is  about  a  year 
ago,  and  just  before  the  departure  of  the  Princess, 
that  Baron  d'  Ompteda  took  steps  through  the 
intervention  of  a  certain  Ambroggio  Cesati,  who 
came  to  me  in  Como,  to  discover  the  place  where 
my  mistress  slept,  what  apartments  were  conti- 
guous, and  to  procure  false  keys.  I  persisted  for 
some  time  in  refusing  to  have  anything  to  do 
with  the  matter,  but,  when  the  Baron  told  me 
that  I  should  be  a  ruined  man  if  I  did  not  listen 
to  him,  and  offered  me  a  large  sum  of  money,  I 
was  corrupted,  although  I  was  fully  persuaded 
that  there  was  no  foundation  whatever  for  his 
infamous  suspicions.  ..." 

The  Princess  immediately  sent  for  the  Governor 
of  the  Province,  Count  Sauran,  and  told  him 
about  the  transaction.     Baron  d'  Ompteda  was 


"LARIO"  127 

ordered  to  quit  the  dominions  of  the  Emperor  at 
once  on  pain  of  arrest  and  imprisonment.  Every 
one  of  Caroline's  suite  stood  firmly  and  indig- 
nantly for  their  beloved  mistress  ;  indeed,  Captain 
Hannam  challenged  the  disreputable  Baron  to  a 
duel,  but  he  evaded  the  issue  and  sneaked  off. 
If  a  motive  were  desired  for  the  wish  to  locate 
the  Princess's  sleeping  apartments,  it  must,  alas  ! 
be  sought  not  in  the  assignations  of  lovers,  but 
in  the  designs  of  assassins.  This  seems  fully 
proved  by  a  strange  circumstance,which  occurred 
at  Genoa  during  the  Princess's  sojourn  in  that 
city.  Some  masked  men  one  night  actually 
penetrated  as  far  as  the  door  of  her  bedroom  ; 
there  they  encountered  her  faithful  valet  Teodoro 
Majocchio,  who  fired  on  them  as  they  fled. 
What  capital  the  English  Ministry  made  out  of 
this  cruel  persecution  it  is  impossible  to  say,  nor 
can  one  divine  the  condition  of  the  Prince-Regent's 
mind  in  face  of  the  failure  of  the  foul  plot.  Any- 
how, the  Princess  continued  to  reside  at  Cer- 
nobbio,  but  her  seclusion  became  all  the  more 
complete,  and  no  strangers  were  admitted  to  her 
presence.  Pour  years  later  CaroHne, — now  Queen 
of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland, — returned  to  London 
upon  the  accession  of  her  husband  as  George  IV. 
She  was,  however,  refused  admission  to  the  royal 
coronation  in  July.     Broken-hearted,  she  sought 

9 


128    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

a  refuge  at  Hammersmith — what  would  she  not 
have  given  to  have  regained  her  beloved  Villa 
d'  Este  ! — and  there  she  died  quite  unexpectedly 
at  Brandenburg  House  on  August  7,  less  than  three 
weeks  after  her  rejection  at  Westminster  Abbey. 

The  viUa  of  the  Queen  of  England  is  still  an 
attraction  to  British  tourists.  It  no  longer 
shelters  a  royal  Court,  but  it  has  blazoned  forth 
as  the  Grand  Hotel  Villa  d'  Este  et  Regina  d'  Inghil- 
terra — one  of  the  most  comfortable  caravanserais 
in  Europe.  The  visitor  may  wander,  as  did  good 
Queen  Caroline,  for  hours  through  the  spacious 
park,  and  traverse,  as  she  did,  its  weU-made 
roads.  Shallops,  like  hers,  are  at  the  disposal  of 
aquatic  parties,  and  the  blue  water  laps  her 
marble  steps  as  musically  as  when  the  royal 
Princess  tripped  up  and  down.  The  great  syca- 
more,— said  to  be  the  finest  in  all  Italy, — under 
which  Caroline  and  her  courtiers  picnicked,  still 
claims  alfresco  merrymakers,  and,  above  all,  the 
blue,  blue  sky  of  Italy  casts  its  lofty  vault, — 
that  vault  pierced  by  the  prayers  and  protesta- 
tions of  a  persecuted  wife.  The  sun,  which  burnt 
her  fair  skin  brown,  and  the  cool  moon  still  make 
the  oMve-trees  glitter  with  gold  and  silver ;  and 
the  storm  and  rain  which  drenched  the  land  a 
hundred  years  ago  still  work  havoc  around  the 
Queen's  villa.     Her  body  lies  in  Brunswick,  but 


S  1 


«         « « 


•••tt       cccct 


''LARIO"  129 

her  soul  hovers  over  Cfemobbio,  and,  if  3^011,  my 
reader,  are  in  a  mind  for  reflection,  you  may  lie 
in  a  hammock  among  the  roses  and  magnolias  and 
meditate  upon  the  strange  freaks  of  royal  fortune. 


II. 

From  Cemobbio  the  richly-wooded  promontory 
of  Tomo  seems  but  an  arrow's  flight  across  the 
glittering  lake  ;  round  the  point  is  the  picturesque 
little  bay  of  Molina,  with  the  historic  Villa 
Pliniana.  The  palace  stands  by  the  waterside, 
open  to  every  passer-by,  but  secluded  by  the 
dense^  shadows  cast  by  dark  towering  cypresses 
of  ancient  growth.  The  high  cliff  at  the  back 
projects  a  rainbowed  cascade  of  intermittent 
splashing  water,  and  this  gives  its  name  to  the 
villa.  We  have  imbibed  the  pathetic  atmosphere 
t  of  the  royal  residence  at  Cemobbio,  and  have 
learned  something  of  the  uneasiness  which  rocks  a 
t  modem  sovereign's  crown.  Here  we  are  environed 
*  by  enthralling  memories  of  "  Lords  and  Ladies  " 
of  ancient  days.  The  actual  villa  was  built, 
indeed,  comparatively  in  recent  times,  for  its 
founder  was  Count  Giovanni  Anguissola  of  Pia- 
cenza,  in  the  year  1570,  and  his  career  and  asso- 
ciates marked  romantic  tragedies  of  the  late 
Renaissance. 


130    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

The  younger  Pliny  loved  Molina  and  its  shores, 
and  dwelt  there  in  happy  guise.  In  a  letter  to 
his  friend  Caninius  he  describes  the  lovely  scenery 
and  the  attractions  of  his  retreat.  "  Do  you," 
he  asks,  "  seek  to  study,  to  fish,  or  to  join  the 
chase,  or  all  these  and  other  delectable  pursuits 
together  ?  All  light  pleasures  and  joyous  occu- 
pations can  be  enjoyed  on  this  our  Larius  with 
the  greatest  ease  and  satisfaction."  He  speaks 
in  another  letter  to  his  frequent  visitor  at  Torno, 
Licinius  Surra,  of  "  the  spring  which  rises  in  the 
mountains,  runs  down  among  mossy  rocks  into 
an  artificial  grotto,  where  one  can  lunch  most 
pleasantly.  Three  times  a  day  it  waxes  and  it 
wanes  with  utmost  regularity,  very  interesting 
to  watch.  Reclining  by  its  brink  our  friends  can 
enjoy  their  repast  and  collect  cooling  draughts 
of  ice-cold  water  in  golden  goblets.  ..."  Just  as 
Caius  Pliny  and  his  company  of  sympathetic  souls 
loved  to  feast  alfresco,  so  to-day  there  is  no  more 
popular  spot  for  merry  picnic-parties  along  the 
"  Lake  of  Lakes." 

Pliny's  ecstatic  love  of  Lacus  Larius  was  a 
counterfoil  to  his  hatred  of  Rome — the  lake  and 
its  shores  were  his  Elysium,  and  he  peopled  it 
with  brilliant  personages  at  play  and  study.  On 
Punto  di  Balbianello, — or  Avedo, — he  built  a 
villa,  to  which  he  gave  the  name  of  "  Comosdia,^' 


"LARIO"  131 

and  in  his  mind  connected  it  with  the  spirit  of 
the  perfect  calm  from  terrors  which  characterized 
the  proverbial  smoothness  of  the  Zocca  dell'  Olio 
— the  Bay  of  Oil.  On  the  Punto  di  Bellagio, — the 
countervailing  promontory, — the  celebrated  his- 
torian placed  another  residence,  and  this  he  called 
"  Tragoedia/'  the  unrestfulness  of  the  dividing 
waters  of  Como  and  Lecco  suggesting  deeds  of 
turbulence  and  horror.  "  On  the  shores  of  Lacus 
Larius,"  he  wrote  to  Romanus,  *'  I  have  several 
villas,  but  two  of  them  give  me  most  pleasure, 
because  I  like  the  thoughts  they  give  me  best. 
One  of  them,  planted  high  on  rocks  after  the 
fashion  of  our  Baise,  overlooks  the  lake  :  the  other, 
no  less  like  Baiae,  touches  its  waters.  I  am  in 
the  habit  of  calling  them  '  Comedy '  and 
'  Tragedy  ' — one  resting  upon  the  comic  slipper, 
— so  to  speak,— the  other  tossed  upon  the  tragic 
shoe.  Each  has  its  charm  for  me  and  all  my 
worshipful  company.  .  .  .  From  the  one  we  look 
down  upon  fishermen  below  toiling  with  their 
nets  ;  from  the  other  we  can  catch  fish  ourselves, 
casting  our  baited  hooks  from  our  slumber  cham- 
bers,— aye,  from  our  very  couches,  as  one  does 
in  a  boat.  .  .  ." 

The  Tragic  Muse  claims  our  attention  more 
especially  at  Villa  Pliniana,  and  links  the  era 
of  the  Plinys  with  our  own.     The  Pope  of  Rome, 


132    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

Paul  III.,  with  dastardly  effrontery,  had  made 
his  natural  son,  Piero  Luigi  Farnese,  Duke  of 
Parma  and  Piacenza.  Uncomely  in  person  and 
morally  depraved,  the  parvenu  drew  upon  himseK 
the  detestation  of  the  nobles  of  the  two  duchies. 
Five  men  of  mark  in  Piacenza — Girolamo  and 
CammiUo  Pallavicini,  Agostino  Landi,  Gianluigi 
Gonfaloniere,  and  Giovanni  Anguissola — agreed 
to  do  away  with  the  monster.  On  September  10, 
1547,  the  confederates  gained  access  to  the  Duke's 
cabinet,  and  despatched  him  with  their  rapiers. 
The  Emperor  acknowledged  this  patriotic  deed  by 
bestowing  honours  upon  the  five  brave  men.  Count 
Giovanni  Anguissola  was  named  Governor  of  the 
Province  of  Como  and  granted  a  substantial 
subsidy,  which  he  spent  upon  his  new  viUa  at 
Molina.  All  the  same,  honour  did  not  bring  him 
peace  of  mind,  and  his  deed  of  blood  rankled  in 
his  soul.  Perturbed  also  by  repeated  attempts 
to  assassinate  him,  his  life  was  robbed  of  all 
happiness.  He  retired  to  the  seclusion  of  the 
ViUa  Pliniana — there  at  least  hoping  for  repose 
and  security,  but  there  he  died,  a  victim  of  remorse 
and  misgiving.  Alas !  "  conscience  doth  make 
cowards  of  us  all." 

Among  the  "  Ladies "  who  have  graced  the 
lawns  and  halls  of  Villa  Pliniana,  none  were  more 
remarkable  for  beauty  of  person,  potentiality  of 


"LARIO"  133 

intellect,  and  exuberance  of  spirit  than  "  the 
conspirator,  wit  and  heroine, — whom  all  Europe 
admired  and  Austria  feared," — Princess  Cristina 
Trivulzio-Belgiosioso.  Bom  in  Milan  in  1808,  at 
the  splendid  family  palace,  rich  in  ai-t  treasures 
and  literary  wealth,  the  young  girl  was  the  joy 
of  her  parents  and  the  pride  of  the  whole  city. 
Urged  on  her  majority,  greatly  against  her  will, 
to  contract  what  would  no  doubt  have  turned 
out  to  be  a  very  unhappy  marriage,  the  Princess 
determined  to  eschew  all  matrimonial  complica- 
tions, "and  devoted  herself  to  the  distractions 
of  frenzied  political  strife.  She  identified  herself 
with  the  party  of  progress  against  all  the  con- 
ventional canons  of  her  family  and  order.  Marked 
down  at  last  as  a  dangerous  individual,  she  was 
warned  to  quit  Milan  or  recant  her  apostasy. 
She  fled  to  Paris,  and  there  indulged  to  the  full 
her  democratic  proclivities.  "  Citizen  Cristina  " — 
she  renounced  her  title  of  Princess — returned  to 
Lombardy  in  1846,  and  entered  most  enthusiasti- 
cally into  the  popular  movement  against  the  hated 
foreigner — Austria.  She  personally  enlisted, 
equipped,  and  commanded  a  battalion  of  intrepid 
volunteers,  which  unfortunately  suffered  severely 
for  the  cause  of  Charles  Albert.  Sentenced  to 
exile,  and  her  property  confiscated,  she  joined  a 
force    of    Garibaldians    in    the    heroic    campaign 


134    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

against  France.  Then  she  travelled  far  and  wide, 
gathering  hght  and  leading  by  the  way,  and 
adding  classics  to  the  literary  treasures  of  her 
native  land.  Her  speciality  was  the  future  of 
Italy,  and,  after  the  peace  of  Villafranca,  she 
edited  that  notable  review  *'  U  Italia.''  Restored 
once  more  to  the  land  of  her  birth,  under  the 
Austrian  amnesty  of  1850,  "  Citizen  Cristina " 
was  allowed  to  recover  much  of  her  property,  and 
thenceforward,  under  the  inspiration  of  the  great 
Cavour,  she  advocated  convincingly  the  sacred 
cause  of  Italian  unity.  She  died  in  1871,  leaving 
behind  her  brilliant  fame  in  the  heroic  annals  of 
patriotism. 

The  Villa  Pliniana  in  quite  recent  times  changed 
hands,  and  once  belonged  to  Count  Scipione 
Visconti, — a  descendant,  of  course,  of  the  cele- 
brated ruling  family  of  Milan.  Another  famous 
aspirant  for  the  ownership  of  this  historic  villa 
was  no  less  romantic  a  personage  than  Percy 
Bysshe  Shelley,  the  poet-philosopher.  In  his 
''  Letters  from  Italy,"  in  April,  1818,  he  writes  ; 
"  The  finest  scenery  on  the  lake  is  that  about 
Villa  Pliniana.  .  .  .  The  house,  which  was  once 
a  magnificent  palace  and  is  now  haK  in  ruins, 
we  are  endeavouring  to  procure.  .  .  .  The  apart- 
ments are  immensely  large,  but  ill-furnished  and 
antique.     The  terraces,  which  overlook  the  lake 


"LARIO"  135 

and  conduct  one  under  the  shade  of  noble  laurels, 
are  most  delightful."  The  villa  to-day  contains 
little  enough  to  attract  the  curious,  but  the  por- 
traits of  Gian  Galeazzo  Sforza  and  his  proud  and 
dashing  consort  Isabella  d'  Arragona  appeal  to  all 
who  know  the  story  of  Milan. 

The  quaint  and  quiet  little  to^vn  of  Tomo,  hard 
by  the  Villa  Pliniana,  is  rich  with  glad  and  dismal 
memories  of  famous  "  Lords  and  Ladies  of  the 
Lake,"  ahd  of  plainer  folk  beside.  It  was  Lodo- 
vico  Sforza  "  II  Moro,"  who  called  the  French  to 
Italy, — a  fatal  step  indeed, — to  aid  his  ambitious 
schemes,  and  they  made  Tomo  one  of  their  head- 
quarters. His  far  less  able  son,  Francesco  II., 
appealed  to  Spain  to  cast  out  the  invaders. 
Spaniards  raided  Como,  its  city  and  its  villages, 
and  spent  their  strength  at  Torno,  where  every 
Frenchman  was  massacred,  and  the  whole  country- 
side pillaged  and  defaced.  Whilst  the  men  were 
butchered,  the  women  were  outraged  ;  but  one 
of  them,  Alicia, — surnames  never  were  of  any 
consequence  in  Lakeland, — leaped  from  her  cham- 
ber window  right  into  the  lake.  Death  was  nobler 
than  dishonour,  and  her  name  lives  in  the  mem- 
ories of  the  peasantry,  for  her  self-sacrifice  has 
surrounded  it  with  the  halo  of  sanctity.  You 
may  read  her  story,  and  aU  about  the  dark  deed 
of  1521,  if  you  ask  permission  to  visit  the  splendid 


136    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

library,  formed  by  Conte  Giovanni  Passalacqua, 
in  his  stately  marble  villa  at  Moltrasio,  opposite 
Tomo.  In  the  church  of  San  Giovanni  Battista, — 
dating  from  the  eleventh  century, — at  Tomo  are 
two  precious  Christian  relics — a  Nail  of  the  Holy 
Cross  and  a  leg-bone  of  one  of  the  Holy  Innocents 
of  Bethlehem.  A  German  Bishop,  returning  from 
the  Crusades,  was  weather-bound  in  his  barge  at 
Torno,  but,  after  depositing  his  treasures  in  this 
holy  shrine,  the  winds  died  down  and  the  lake 
was  becalmed,  and  so  he  fared  homewards,  a  wiser 
but  a  poorer  man. 

There  is  one  little  spot  of  wholly  free  soil, — the 
only  one  in  all  Lakeland, — you  may  almost  see 
it  looking  right  up  the  lake  between  the  jutting- 
out  points  of  Torriggia  and  Cavagnola, — which  has 
ever  maintained  its  pristine  freedom :  it  is  an 
island — the  only  one  in  "  Lario."  What  the  fabled 
Garden  of  Eden  was  to  mankind  in  general,  the 
Isola  Comacina  has  been  to  Lombardy  and 
beyond.  Called  by  the  country-folk  Isola  di 
San  Qiovanni,  one's  thoughts  connect  this  alter- 
native designation  with  the  daring  deeds  of  the 
Lombards  of  old  times,  who  hailed  the  "  Baptist  " 
for  their  own.  The  story  goes  that,  when  King 
Alboin  and  his  army  overran  all  Italy,  the  Governor 
of  Como,  Francioni,  retired  to  this  secluded 
islet,  which  he  strongly  fortified  and  amply  pro- 


"LARIO'*  1S7 

visioned,  holding  aloft  the  standard  of  the  Roman 
Empire.  The  island  became  the  refuge  of  more 
people  than  it  could  maintain  and  treasures  of 
*all  kinds  were  borne  thither  for  safety.  Peace 
and  security  were  of  short  duration,  for  another 
war-lord,  Autaris,  elected  King  of  the  Lombards 
in  584,  surrounded  the  island  with  his  fleet  of 
warships,  and,  although  the  defenders  stood  their 
ground  heroically  for  many  months,  the  prize 
was  his,  and  rich  it  was  in  gallant  men  and  maidens 
fair,  with  booty  galore.  The  menfolk  of  the  Isola 
were,  however,  not  all  warriors,  for  Francioni  had 
welcomed  and  sheltered  many  cunning  craftsmen, 
who  became  known  as  "  Magistri  Comacini." 
Their  story  is  a  moving  romance  of  industry. 

Autaris,  "  the  Long  Haired,"  was  not  only  a 
warrior  in  the  Camp  of  Mars,  he  was  also  a  suitor 
in  the  Court  of  Venus.  Away  across  the  Enga- 
dine  Mountains, — the  Eastern  Alps, — upon  the 
Teutonic  throne  of  Bavaria,  reigned  a  strong 
King,^ — Garibald, — who  had  a  lovely  and  an  only 
daughter.  Tales  of  the  Princess's  charms  had 
found  their  way  across  peak  and  glacier,  and  in 
Autaris' s  mind  had  created  visions  which  he  was 
determined  to  translate  into  substantial  fact. 
The  King  despatched  from  his  camp  above 
Menaggio  an  embassy  to  his  royal  brother's  castle, 
demanding  the  hand  in  marriage  of  the  beauteous 


138    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

Theodelinda.  Chafing  at  delay  in  the  expected 
response,  Autaris,  incognito,  accompanied  another 
embassy  to  the  Bavarian  Court.  With  the  chief 
envoy  he  was  admitted, — of  course  quite  un- 
recognized,— to  the  royal  presence,  and  there 
feasted  his  eyes  upon  the  bewitching  Princess. 
Like  the  Queen  of  Sheba's  praise  of  King  Solomon, 
*'  one  half  her  charms  had  not  been  told,"  and 
he  determined  to  make  her  his  own  whate'er 
bechanced.  Advancing  to  Garibald  with  due 
courtesy,  he  explained  that  he  had  been  specially 
attached  to  the  embassy  that  he  might  convey 
to  his  master,  who  was  his  intimate  friend,  a 
particular  description  of  the  personal  charms  of 
Princess  Theodelinda.  The  royal  maiden  was 
bidden  to  let  down  her  hair,  bare  her  breast, 
and  pose  gracefully  before  the  visitors.  Cupid's 
conquest  of  Autaris  was  complete ;  he  assured 
Garibald  that  the  Lombard  King  required  no 
further  testimony,  and  that  he  was  empowered 
to  offer  his  daughter  the  Queen-Consort's  crown 
of  Italy.  Then,  gallantly  kneeling  to  the  Princess, 
he  offered  her  a  splendid  goblet,  which  he  asked 
her  to  fiU  with  good  red  wine  and  hand  round  to 
her  new  subjects.  When  his  turn  came  to  quaff 
the  loving-cup,  he  touched  the  Princess's  hand 
with  hot  pressure,  and  at  the  same  time  signalled 
her  to  silence.      Theodelinda,  already  smitten  by 


"LARIO"  189 

the  grand  phybical  attributes  of  hei-  father's  guest 
and  by  his  noble  bearing,  with  a  woman's  un- 
failing intuition  guessed  his  identity,  and,  to  her 
father's  inexpressible  astonishment,  knelt  and 
kissed  the  sandal  of  Autaris.  Discovered  in 
this  deed  of  daring-do,  the  Kings  embraced,  and 
the  Princess's  gentle  hand  was  placed  within 
Autaris' s  massive  palm.  The  marriage  ceremonies 
were  at  once  set  in  order,  and  the  next  day  King 
Autaris  and  Queen  Theodelinda  rode  off  together 
on  their  way  to  Como. 

In  the  popular  mind  Queen  Theodelinda  lives 
still  as  the  gracious  fairy  of  Lake  Como.  On  hill, 
in  dale,  on  shore,  afloat,  stories  of  her  and  her 
worth  are  told  in  folklore  ditties,  and  sung  in 
rich  harracole.  The  noble  road  from  Menaggio  to 
Gravedona  is  still  called  "  Strada  Regina."  Queen 
Theodelinda  made  it  that  she  might  the  more 
comfortably  be  borne  in  her  litter  to  Bagni  di 
Val  Masino  in  the  Valtellina  country.  Alas,  for 
the  joys  of  married  life,  the  captivating  Queen 
was  widowed  within  the  year ;  but  Autaris's 
people, — hers,  too,  by  ardent  love  and  gratitude, — 
besought  her  to  seek  a  second  partner.  Whoever 
he  might  be  they  agreed  to  accept  as  Lombard  King. 
Many  suitors  naturally  wooed  the  Queen  in  weeds, 
but  she  turned  her  face  from  all  but  one, — a 
heathen  prince  !     Her  choice  was  fixed  upon  the 


140    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

most  valiant  Prince  in  Italy, — spouse  of  the 
Conqueror  Autaris.  She  could  only  wed  a  hero- 
warrior, — ^gilulfo,  Duke  of  Turin.  One  condi- 
tion only  did  the  Queen  require — the  Duke's  con- 
version and  baptism,  and  he  yielded  generously, 
as  a  slave  of  beauty  should.  Together  the  new 
King  and  his  Consort  built  the  Cathedral  of 
Monza,  in  pious  memory  of  this  victory  of  the 
Christian  faith.  iEgilulfo  was  on  the  point  of 
leading  an  army  to  attack  the  Holy  City,  but 
Theodelinda  at  once  stopped  the  expedition,  for 
which  act  of  grace  a  generous  Pope,  Gregory  the 
Great,  sent  to  the  Queen  at  Monza  a  token  of  his 
approval  and  gratitude.  This  was  a  very  unique 
and  precious  gift — ^no  less  than  a  finely  beaten 
fillet  of  iron  to  fit  her  royal  brow  made  from  a 
nail  of  the  Crucifixion  of  Calvary, — and  now  the 
famous  Iron  Crown  of  Lombardy.  The  "  nail " 
to  be  sure,  is  nowadays  seen  encircling  a  coronet 
of  pure  gold  and  jewelled  with  four-and-twenty 
superb  precious  stones — the  age  at  the  time  of  its 
presentation  of  the  saintly  Queen.  At  Monza  her 
portrait, — an  ancient  bas-relief, — is  over  the  great 
west  door :  she  is  represented  at  the  Baptism  of 
Christ  bearing  a  cross  and  wearing  a  crown  ! 

There  are  two  accounts  of  Queen  Theodelinda's 
death  and  burial.  There  is,  first  of  aU,  a  weU- 
supported   tradition   that,   after  she  had   buried 


"  LARIO  "  141 

King  iEgilulfo  at  San  Lorenzo  in  Milan, — its  most 
ancient  church, — she  retired  humbly  to  the  Castle 
of  Vezio,  which  dominates  Varenna  on  the  Lake 
of  Como,  and  there  ended  her  days  happily  in 
pious  exercises  and  charity.  Our  Tennyson  has 
caught  the  spirit  of  Queen  Theodelinda's  romance 
in  his  T^4^'tiime  on  sweet  and  dreamy  Como  : 

**  The  Lariano  crept 
To  that  fair  port  below  the  castle 
Of  Queen  Theodelind,  where  we  slept, 
Or  hardly  slept,  but  watched  awake 
A  cypress  in  the  moonlight  shake, 
The  moonlight  touching  o'er  a  terrace 
On  tall  agave  above  the  lake." 

The  poet's  inspiration  was  that  of  the  folklore 
of  the  country-side  of  Varenna,  which  relates  how 
that,  when  the  rising  moon,  topping  the  Monte 
Grigna-Settentrionale,  glints  down  the  shadowy 
Val  d'  Esino  a  silver  beam,  the  cypresses  around 
and  below  the  ruins  of  the  Torre  di  Vezio,  swaying 
in  the  evening  breeze,  allow  the  brilliance  to  flash 
upon  the  tasselated  head  of  a  lonely  agave,  which 
for  the  moment  assumes  the  verisimilitude  of 
the  gracious,  vigorous  Queen.  The  dayhght  con- 
sistency of  the  scene  is  no  less  eloquent  of  the 
fragrance  of  saintly  deeds,  for  the  rugged  stones 
of  Theodelinda's  last  resting-place  are  covered  by 
luxuriant  growths  of  grapes  and  peaches,  whilst 
gay  flowerets  of  the  field  perfume  the  air.     In  the 


142     LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

deep  gorge  below  churns  the  frothy  Fiume  di 
Latte,  as  it  tears  itself  over  rock  and  ruin,  rushing 
impetuously  to  the  lake.  Murmurs  of  its  tragic 
music  rise  up  with  its  vapour  and  spread  them- 
selves peacefully  over  the  velvet  moss  upon  which 
Queen  Theodelinda  trod. 

Very  different  is  the  Monza  story  of  the  Lombard 
Queen.  Buried  in  a  massive  tomb  of  country 
stone,  in  the  north  chapel  of  the  Cathedral  choir, 
San  Carlo  Borromeo,  when  on  his  purifying  visita- 
tion of  the  Lombard  churches,  marked  the  tomb 
for  ejection — because  the  Queen  had  not  been 
canonized  !  Too  unwieldy  to  be  moved,  the  tomb 
was  uncovered,  and  its  contents  were  duly  identi- 
fied. The  corpse,  or  what  remained  of  it,  was 
untouched,  but  Theodelinda's  comb,  her  fan,  her 
cup  of  sapphire,  a  crystal  cross, — Saint  Gregory's 
gift, — and  the  gold-embossed  cover  of  her  missal 
were  transferred  to  the  Cathedral  sacristy,  and 
there  they  may  be  seen  to-day.  Whichever  story 
may  be  true,  one  thing  is  certain — no  shadow  of 
tragedy  cast  its  baneful  influence  over  the  romance 
of  Queen  Theodelinda's  life  and  love. 

But  to  return  to  the  picturesque  Island  of 
Comacina.  After  the  fall  of  vaUant  Francioni  the 
islet  became  the  sanctuary  of  many  outraged 
fugitives — penniless  and  hopeless.  Its  umbra- 
geous trees  and  the  eaves  of  its  ancient  church 


"LARIO"  143 

gave  shelter  to  the  Duke  of  Bergamo,  Groldulo, 
after  his  rebellion  against  King  ^gilulfo.  Cuni- 
pert  and  Ausprando,  driven  from  their  govern- 
ments, at  Comacina  laid  plans  to  recover  what  they 
had  lost.  The  people  of  Como,  ever  jealous  of 
the  enterprise  and  the  wealth  of  the  Comacinesi, 
waged  destructive  wars  against  the  island,  and 
devastated  it  with  fire  and  sword.  The  van- 
quished, however,  appealed  to  Milan,  and  with 
Milan  destroyed  the  turbulent  lake  city.  The 
epic  poem  of  the  Ten  Years'  War  thus  speaks  of 
Isola  Comacina  : 

''  Insula  non  dormit,  nee  jam  tenit  ilia  quietem, 
Cogitat  et  vigilat,  versat  furiosa  quid  agit^ 

So  much  for  the  mediaeval  "  Lords  and  Ladies  " 
of  Lake  Ck)mo. 

So  placed  is  the  Zocca  dell'  Olio — the  Bay  of 
Oil — ^and  so  distinctly  clear  upon  its  smooth 
mirrored  surface  are  the  reflections  of  island 
groves  and  mainland  boskets,  with  buildings 
flashing  white  and  boats  of  many  hues,  that  it 
seems  but  a  handshake  between  the  quaint  church 
of  San  Giovanni  and  the  gUttermg  Villa  Arconati. 
Beautifully  situated  at  Campo,  upon  the  Punta 
d'  Avedo, — the  slowly  accumulating  delta  of  the 
torrents  from  Monte  Tremezzo  and  Monte  di 
Lenno, — this  exquisite  villa  appeals  to  all  who 
hurry  past  on  the  silvery  waterway  to  slacken  sail 

10 


144    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

or  draw  in  the  oars.  There,  upon  the  sculptured 
terrace  of  the  little  port,  hard  by  the  villa,  stands 
a  statue  of  St.  Francis  d'  Assisi,  delicately 
chiselled  and  lifelike,  and  ever  holding  out  his 
hands  in  benediction — those  holy  hands  stigma- 
taed  by  an  approving  Christ.  Simple-hearted  and 
devout  fisherfolk  accept  the  saintly  blessing  with 
uncovered  heads  and  crossed  breasts,  and  are  all 
the  better  for  the  momentary  pause  from  labour 
and  for  the  passing  holy  thought.  And  then 
belated  boatmen  and  peasant  folk  across  the 
narrow  strait  from  Cavagnola  to  Loppia  take 
heart  of  grace  when  they  behold  the  flare  of 
St.  Francis's  night-cresset  flickering  over  the 
shadowy  waves.  Though  the  curfew  has  bidden 
men  to  well-earned  sleep,  "  Ben  San  Franzese,  hen 
not''  —  Good  St.  Francis,  good-night,  —  comes 
whispered  through  the  gloom. 

This  saintly  signal  is  due  to  the  devotion  and 
munificence  of  a  worthy  peasant-Cardinal,  Bal- 
biano  Durini.  He  purchased  the  villa  and  a 
factory  near  his  native  hamlet,  whereat  to  end  his 
days  in  peace.  He  called  his  habitation  "  II 
Balhianello — ^the  little  grot  of  Balbiano, — and  he 
founded  therein  a  Convalescent  Home  for  sick 
brethren  of  the  charitable  Order.  The  estate 
carried  with  it  the  title  of  Count,  and,  by  an  odd 
caprice,  he  addressed  each  inmate  of  the  hostel 


"LARIO"  U5 

by  the  title  which  he  himself  refused.  The  villa 
itseK  was  built  by  another  Cardinal  of  Holy  Church, 
— from  designs  of  Pellegrino  Pellegrini,  the  lordly 
lacustrine  architect  sobriquetted  Tibaldo, — in  1596, 
Tolomeo  Gallio — a  notable  spiritual  "  Lord  of 
Como,"  a  famous  benefactor  all  around  his  cher- 
ished Lario.  From  Gravedona  in  the  North  to 
Como  in  the  South,  churches,  villas,  and  institutions 
abound,  all  looking  to  him  as  restorer  or  founder. 

Campo  and  its  villa  are  associated  also  with 
the  name  of  another  famous  Larioan  family,  the 
Giovi — or  Zobii  in  the  vernacular. 

Somewhere  about  the  time  that  Norman  William 
conquered  this  fair  island  of  ours,  Giacomo  Zobii 
obtained  the  unique  privilege  of  naming  both  the 
Prefect  of  the  village  of  Stabio, — opposite  the 
Isola  Comacina, — and  the  priest  of  its  early 
Church  of  St.  Mary  Magdalene.  The  church, 
still  earlier,  and  again  later,  members  of  the 
Giovi  family  have  endowed  richly,  so  that,  under 
the  auspices  of  the  rector,  all  sick  and  needy 
wayfarers  may  eat  and  drink  and  rest,  and  be 
doctored  too.  The  Ospedaletto  de'  Zobii  is  still  a 
benevolent  institution,  and  the  Torre  di  Zobii 
still  marks  the  spot  where  the  good  men  and 
women  of  the  family  dwelt  and  helped  their  fellow- 
men — worthy  "  Lords  and  Ladies  of  the  Lake," 

Benedetto  and  Paolo  Giovi,  both  born  in  the 


146    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

city  of  Como,  were  among  the  most  celebrated 
"  Lords "  of  their  family.  Historians  both, 
perhaps  the  younger, — as  is  usual  in  most  families, 
— rose  to  greater  fame.  The  elder  brother  was  a 
devout  and  simple-minded  scholar,  who,  although 
his  feet  never  carried  him  farther  than  to  the  utmost 
shores  of  the  lake  he  loved, — and  he  knew  nothing 
of  the  great  world  of  Milan  and  of  Italy, — contrived 
to  excavate  a  valuable  mine  of  most  truthful 
fact  and  most  amusing  fiction.  His  labours  he 
dedicated  to  the  city  of  his  birth,  under  the  happy 
title  "  Historia  P atria  "  ;  to  him  is  due  the  most 
succinct  precis  pen  ever  wrote — piquant  and  epi- 
grammatic too.  Translated,  it  tells  the  fifteen 
hundred  years'  story  of  the  city  and  its  people  : 
"  A  Greek  colony  of  Orobii  first  settled  here. 
Gauls  took  it,  Rhoetians,  an  Alpine  tribe,  des- 
troyed it.  C.  Scipio  Pompeius,  and  Caius  Caesar 
restored  and  colonized  it.  Warlike  men  of  Milan 
burnt  it.  Frederic  I.  rebuilt  it.  Twice  destroyed 
by  civil  war.  Discord  of  rival  families  plunged 
it  in  calamities.  With  Charles  V.  came  new  hope 
of  prosperity."  Bom  in  1471,  Benedetto  Giovio 
died  in  1544,  and  Paolo, — ^twelve  years  his  junior, — 
survived  till  1552. 

Paolo  was  very  much  more  ambitious  than  his 
elder  brother.  A  man  of  rare  genius  and  vast 
erudition,  he  earned  the  title  of  "  II  Varro  di  Lorn-* 


.-;    1 

^M 

•^ 

^ 

o 


>     t 


"LARIO"  147 

hardia.**  A  famous  poem  of  his  "  Quattrodieci 
Fontane  di  Gomo,''  sings  the  beauties  and  the 
excellences  of  the  valleys  and  the  hills  of  Lario. 
Paolo  Giovio  took  iviinor  Orders  in  the  Church, 
and  rose  to  the  eminent  post  of  Papal  Secretary 
under  no  less  celebrated  a  Pontiff  than  Leo  X. 
Thirty-seven  years  of  his  life  he  devoted  to  his 
masterpiece  in  literature — a  history  of  his  own 
times.  This  remarkable  composition  has  been 
made  the  butt  of  derision.  Taking  his  cue 
doubtless  from  the  weird  gallery  of  celebrities 
in  the  Palazzo  del  Banco  di  San  Giorgio  at  Genoa, 
whose  Sala  del  Gonsiglio  is  filled  with  statues  and 
busts  of  Genoese  worthies  in  various  sizes,  the 
size  and  prominence  of  each  worthy  being  accur- 
ately gauged  by  the  amount  each  Signore  paid 
the  mercenary  sculptor  !  Paolo's  contemporary 
narratives  also  differentiate  the  sums  paid  down  ! 
He  used,  it  was  said,  two  pens,  a  golden  one 
with  which  to  laud  his  most  generous  patrons, 
and  a  pen  of  iron  for  bare,  cold  notices  !  His 
biographer  makes  an  amusing  skit  on  this 
eminently  business-like  method  :  "  He  was,"  he 
says,  "  no  greater  a  sinner  than  the  rest  of  his 
profession,  but  he  had  the  saving  grace  of  not 
denying  his  perversities."  Wideawake  Mon- 
signore  Paolo  was  never  at  a  loss  for  an  excuse 
for  inaccuracy  or  exaggeration.     "  Never  mind," 


148    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

he  laughed,  "  it  will  no  doubt  be  quite  true  in 
three  or  four  hundred  years !"  There  was, 
indeed,  a  method  in  the  romancer's  economy,  for, 
when  Francis  I.  of  France  ceased  his  patronage, 
he  heaped  adulations  upon  the  new  Pope,  Clement, 
and  his  family,  the  Medici,  and  gained  in  acknow- 
ledgment the  fat  see  of  Nocera  and  a  hatful 
of  preferments  besides. 

Another  characteristic  work  of  Paolo  Giovio 
was  his  "  Descriptio  Larii  Lacus,^'  engineered 
also  upon  "  the  poor  or  much-pay "  principle. 
Its  publication,  in  1558,  six  years  after  its  author's 
death,  was  due  to  an  amusing  circumstance. 
One,  Dionisio  Sommentino,  a  notary  of  Novara, 
was  sent  to  Bellagio  to  investigate  a  charge  of 
murder  among  the  tenants  of  his  patron,  Conte 
Nicolo  Sfondrate.  The  beauty  of  the  situation 
and  the  splendour  of  the  villa,  now  Villa  Ser- 
belloni,  enraptured  the  man  of  law.  Upon  his 
return  he  recounted  the  delightful  impressions  he 
had  received.  The  Count  smiled  sardonically 
and  asked  him  whether  he  would  like  to  dwell  in 
the  permanent  contemplation  of  so  many  attrac- 
tions. With  enthusiasm  Sommentino  responded. 
"  Go,  then,"  said  the  Count,  "  and  fetch  me  from 
my  library  table  a  little  pile  of  manuscript  marked 
'  P.G.'  There,  "said  he,  handing  his  companion 
the  bundle,  you  will  find  every  feature  which  has 


"LARIO"  149 

struck  you  noted ;  take  it  home,  and  dream  you 
are  at  Bellagio  !"  The  notary  took  the  gift  and 
with  it  the  determination  to  publish  to  the  world 
the  charming  narrative. 

Still  another  Zobio  made  his  name  famous  as 
a  "Lord  of  Como  "  —  Gianbattista  Giovio, — the 
veiy  pleasant  writer  of  "  Letter e  Larianey  He 
belonged  to  the  eighteenth  century,  and  so  did 
Napoleon  Buonaparte, — and  to  the  nineteenth, — 
the  great  war-Lord  of  Lombardy  and  the  Lakes. 
In  1810  Napoleon  dissolved  the  Italian  monasteries 
and  other  semi-conventual  institutions,  and  with 
them  went  the  Hospital  of  Zobio,  all  purchased 
b}^  a  Como  nobleman — Count  Porro.  His  tenure, 
however,  of  the  Villa  at  Campo  was  short,  for  he 
was  compelled  to  go  into  exile  for  his  political 
opinions,  and  settled  in  Brussels,  spending  the 
end  of  his  days  with  Marquis  Arconati  Visconti,  a 
fellow  refuge.  By  his  will  he  bequeathed  his 
estate  to  his  friend,  who,  being  restored  to  his 
native  land,  gave  his  name  "  Arconati  "  to  the 
villa.  The  Marquis  died  in  1880,  and  then  his 
widow  splendidly  restored  the  villa  and  refurnished 
it,  and  occasionally  visited  it.  Among  the  "  Lords 
and  Ladies  "  who  have  grimaced  and  smirked,  or, 
of  sterner  stuff,  conversed  and  plotted  at  Villa 
Arconati  have  been  Silvio  Pellico,  Giovanni 
Mazzini,   and  Princess-Citizen  Cristina  Trivulzio- 


150    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

Belgiosioso.  They  and  many  more  made  pious 
pilgrimages  to  the  shrine  of  the  famous  Madonna 
del  Soccorso,  high  above  the  lake  upon  the  Dosso 
d'  Avedo. 

The  legend  of  the  Madonna  del  Soccorso  is  as 
pretty  a  story  as  any  of  the  thousand  and  one 
which  scintillate  above  the  seven  brilliant  stars 
of  St.  Mary's  coronal.  Many,  many  years  ago, 
say  the  goody  gossips, — there  was  a  little  deaf 
and  dumb  peasant  girl  of  Isola,  who  tended  her 
father's  small  flock  of  goats  and  sheep  in  the 
pastures  above  the  village.  One  day  she  wandered 
with  her  charges  somewhat  off  the  beaten  track, 
and,  lo  and  behold  !  found  herself  in  a  land  of 
rocks  and  grottos.  One  little  cave  in  particular 
attracted  her,  for  by  it  grew  the  very  biggest 
cyclamens  the  child  had  ever  seen,  and  at  the 
same  time  the  most  deeply  crimson  dyed.  Stretch- 
ing out  her  hand  to  grasp  some  of  the  fragrant 
blooms  she  was  astounded  to  behold,  within  the 
cave's  mouth,  the  Madonna  with  the  Child  Christ 
in  her  arms.  The  Holy  Mother  smiled  upon  her, 
and  made  a  movement  which  Nania  misin- 
terpreted, and,  startled,  she  fled  from  the  spot, 
nor  stayed  her  steps  till  she  fell  weeping  in  her 
mother's  arms.  To  the  consternation  of  her  fond 
parent  and  her  sisters,  too,  Nania' s  tongue- 
string  was   loosened,  and   she   uttered   the   first 


"LARIO"  151 

articulate  sounds  they  had  ever  heard :  "  ia 
Madon  I  La  Madon  !  Col  Bimbi  I  Bimbi  Ge.su  /" 
Recovering  from  their  surprise,  the  child  ex- 
citedly told  them  what  she  had  seen,  and  where. 
The  Madonna  Adeliza  called  her  menfolk  from 
their  toil  and,  led  by  little  Nania,  the  whole 
village  ascended  the  steep  slopes  and  reached 
the  spot  where  the  flock  of  sheep  and  goats 
still  nibbled  the  succulent  grasses.  There,  sure 
enough,  within  the  grotto  stood,  not,  indeed, 
a  living  Maria  Verginey  but  a  sculptured  figure. 
With  the  utmost  reverence  the  pious  peasants 
knelt  upon  the  rocky  pasture,  and  recited  all  the 
prayers  they  knew,  whilst  the  women,  shedding 
copious  tears,  folded  in  turn  the  hitherto  mute 
child  to  their  breasts.  '^  Miracolo  /  miracolo  T^ 
was  upon  the  mouths  of  all,  and  forthwith  the 
whole  company  ran  hastily  down  the  declivities 
and  made  straight  for  the  pievano's  house.  With 
cross,  candle,  and  bell,  the  good  priest  sallied 
forth,  attended  by  his  village  acolytes,  sprinkling 
holy  water  and  tossing  clouds  of  incense  smoke 
before  the  grotto  and  reciting  many  prayers.  The 
devotions  of  Holy  Church  were  rendered,  and  the 
congregation  then  set  to  work  to  lay  the  first  stone 
of  a  hillside  tabernacle,  wherein  to  guard  and 
venerate  the  Holy  Image.  A  chapel  and  an 
altar  were  very  soon  upreared,  and  then,  with  great 


152    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

ceremony,  the  Bishop  of  Como  and  a  goodly 
gathering  translated  the  miracle-working  Madonna 
to  the  church  at  Isola,  and  fixed  her  upon  a 
splendid  shrinelike  bracket.  This  removal,  how- 
ever, was  not  at  all  to  the  liking  of  the  Madonna, 
and  one  night  she  returned  mysteriously  to  her 
grotto  shrine.  It  was  a  way  the  Madonna  of  the 
cinquecento  had,  and  characterictic  of  her  bene- 
ficient  sovereignty !  Thrice  was  our  Madonna 
carried,  with  penitential  litanies  back  to  Isola, 
and  thrice  she  hurried  back,  at  last  to  be  allowed 
by  her  devotees  to  assert  her  will  and  pleasure. 

In  1537  the  present  chapel,  on  its  grassy, 
stony  platform  was  erected,  and  since  then  "  La 
Madonna  del  Soccorso '"  has  rested  contentedly. 
Very  many  miracles  have,  these  four  hundred 
years,  been  wrought  upon  that  lovely  mead  for 
the  relief  of  suffering  humanity,  and  very  many 
mutes  have  there  cried  out  with  little  Nania — 
'^LaMadon!  La  Madon  P'  An  annual  pilgrimage 
was  ordered  by  ecclesiastical  authority.  It  is  still 
held  on  September  8,  and  attracts  thousands  and 
thousands  of  pious  folk.  Few,  perhaps,  of  the 
"  Lords  and  Ladies  of  the  Lake "  join  those 
fervent  bands — Society  has  another  level,  another 
cult — maybe  a  worse  and  certainly  a  more  sordid. 
Would  that  some  of  the  pristine  simplicity  of 
faith  and  practice  marked  our  own  day's  work  ! 


"LARIO"  153 

In  times  of  stress  the  country-folk  of  Lario  and 
its  villages  cry  aloud  to  the  Madonna  of 
Isola,  visit  her  hillside  shrine  and  deposit 
their  little  offerings,  leaving,  in  memory  of 
their  pilgrimage,  little  spluttering  tallow  candlef^. 
The  approach  to  the  chapel  has  become  a  foot- 
polished  pavement.  By  the  "  Via  Sacra/*  in  smp.ll 
shrines  and  chapels,  are  fifteen  coloured  terra-cotta 
groups, — Biblical  and  historical, — teaching  more 
vividly  than  book-lore  the  great  epic  of  Christ 
and  Mary.  If  you  ask  the  cassocked  custode  of 
the  church  at  Isola,  he  tells  you  the  Madonna 
has  been  nothing  but  a  blessing  ever  since  Nania 
first  proclaimed  her. 


III. 

From  the  scene  of  sweet  reveries  of  reUgious 
fervour  over  Isola,  it  is  but  a  short  course  by  land 
or  lake  to  the  modem  elysium  of  Lake  Como — 
a  triangular  sheet  of  deepest  blue  water  pointed 
by  Bell  agio,  Cadenabbia,  and  Menaggio — each 
brim  full  of  interests,  chiefly  modem.  A  little 
way  back  from  the  well-worn  stone  landing-steps 
at  Tremezzo  stands  a  villa,  rather  inconspicuous 
and  lacking  in  renown — "  Villa  Scorpione "  it  is 
named.  A  velvet,  verdant  sward  stretches  from 
the  garden-gates  to  the  borders  of  the  lake,  where 


154    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

some  ancient,  much-gnarled  olive-trees  lend  weird 
charms  to  the  mise  en  scene.  One  glorious  summer's 
evening,  in  1873, — when  the  Lombard  sun, 
beating  hotly  upon  the  ice-fields  of  the  glowing 
crimsoned  Alps  was  reflected,  with  the  refraction 
of  its  ardour,  upon  the  green  pastures  and  blue 
waters  of  the  North  Italian  lakes, —  a  gondola 
shot  out  silently  from  the  pier  at  Cadenabbia. 
The  sky  was  of  chameleon  opal,  and  the  trees  of 
the  wood  had  taken  on  a  golden  sheen  of  bronze. 
Butterflies  and  moths, — gay-hued  or  sombre, — 
worsting  one  another  in  daring  flight ;  honey-bees, 
— ^their  thirst  for  nectar  not  yet  quenched, — and 
dragon-flies, — spiking  everywhere  in  sunbeams, 
and  jealous  of  more  humble  glow-worms  already 
kindling  their  lamps  of  gold, — were  holding  revels 
with  the  busy,  noisy  crickets  in  the  superheated 
grass.  The  craft  drew  near  the  landing-stage — 
in  it  a  quartet  of  English  travellers^ — their  object 
being  a  friendly  visit  to  the  hospitable  owners  of 
the  Villa. 

"  Zitto  /" — Hush  ! — passed  from  lip  to  lip,  for 
the  raised  vocal  ecstasy,  the  sweep  of  oar,  or  the 
creak  of  rowel  would  have  utterly  disturbed  a 
marvellously  charming  idyllic  serenade  in  view 
and  hearing  of  the  water-party.  Slung  from  two 
hoary,  widely  separated  arms  of  an  ancient  olive 
giant  was  a  red-knotted,  netted  hammock,  and 


"LARIO"  156 

from  it  trailed  the  white  laced  petticoat  of 
a  salmon  silken  robe.  One  dainty  shoeless  foot 
of  the  fair  form  recHning  there, — with  her  gay- 
Japanese  umbrella  stuck  up  against  the  golden 
sun,  too  hot  to  bear, — was  swinging  gracefully 
and  rythmicaUy  to  and  fro.  The  face  was  in 
shadow — her  form  well  shrunk  in  the  meshes 
made  recognition  difficult.  Below  the  dreaming, 
rocking  damsel,  reclined  upon  a  couch  of  moss 
and  flowers,  an  apple  -  green  -  velvet  -  costumed 
suitor ;  his  head,  long  flaxen  haired,  was  bare ; 
at  his  throat  he  wore  a  yellow  silk  cravat ;  his 
knee-ribbons,  gaily-bunched,  matched  his  tie.  His 
face,  turned  away  from  the  direction  of  the  lake, 
was  flxed  upon  the  object  of  his  song, — for  he 
was  eloquently  strumming  a  much  -  decorated 
guitar,  and  he  was  softly  drooning  his  melody 
of  love.  Through  the  glittering,  animated  leaf- 
sprays  of  the  trees  stole  silvered  visions  of  a 
crescent  moon — just  rising  to  greet  the  peeping 
stars.  Bats  were  all  the  while  incontinently  faring 
here  and  there,  whilst  nesting-birds  were  cooing 
soft  good-nights  to  one  another ;  all  Nature  was 
in  harmony. 

The  lovers  were  Henry  Brockett  and  Georgiana 
Bemal  -  Osborne ;  he  the  son  and  heir  of  the 
owner  of  the  villa  over  there — she,  the  youth's 
fiancee,  as  good  as  she  was  fair.     Now  they  are 


156    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

man  and  wife  together,  and  have  been  many  a 
year.  Probably  they  have  forgotten  the  idyll 
they  created  for  the  delight  of  their  fellow-country- 
folk ;  perhaps  they  did  not  realize  it  at  the  time. 
Love  is  often  very  blind  and  very  deaf  ! 

Villa  Carlotta  claims  notice  further  on  at  Caden- 
abbia,  from  the  water-wayfarer,  and  from  the 
lover  of  the  beautifuL  Its  name  is  very  recent, 
for,  not  till  Duchess  Charlotte  of  Saxe  Meiningen 
came  as  a  bride  to  Lario  in  1850,  did  "  Carlotta  " 
supersede  "  Sommariva  " — the  loveliest  bank  of 
all — the  name  of  the  first  noble  owner,  Conte 
Sommariva.  The  original  villa,  indeed,  was  quite 
an  unambitious  edifice,  built  by  the  Marchese 
Clerici  of  Como,  in  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth 
century.  Princess  Albrecht  of  Prussia  bought  it 
and  the  estate  for  £29,000,  in  1843,  and  gave  it  to 
her  daughter,  upon  her  marriage  with  the  Here- 
ditary Prince  of  Saxe-Meiningen.  "  Begina  del 
Lago  r*  is  the  unanimous  verdict, — native  and 
foreign, — when  it  is  sought  to  balance  villa 
rivalry  on  Lario.  "  Carlotta  "  yields  to  none  ; 
her  throne  is  the  highest,  her  crown  the  rarest 
in  the  realm  of  Nature  decked  by  Art.  Be  it 
softly  whispered,  however,  she  holds  no  Court  of 
romance ;  and  her  story  is  void  of  tragedy,  but 
her  treasures  are  eloquent  of  human  passions 
and  the  joys  of  man.     All  the  world  knows  some- 


U  O  QQ 

cs  z  "-' 

2  I  a 

^  i  §. 

o  o  ^ 

^  ^  ^ 

^  g  I 

o  ^ 


*'LARIO"  157 

thing,  at  least,  of  the  loves  of  Cupid  (Eros)  and 
Psyche ;  but  reading  mythology  is  somewhat  dull 
work  in  comparison  with  the  contemplation  of 
the  almost  speaking,  breathing  group  of  sculpture 
in  the  Great  Saloon  of  Villa  Carlotta,  which 
tells  so  convincingly  the  sweetest  tale  of  human 
mesmerism. 

This  lovely  '*bit"  of  purest  Carrara  marble, — 
flashing  white  as  the  crystal  snow, — is  not  the 
creation  of  a  passionate  Buonarroti,  nor  of  an 
impetuous  Cellini ;  no  sensuous  Sansovino  nor 
gallant  Giovanni  da  Bologna  chiselled  those  ex- 
quisite young  forms.  A  serious  son  of  Italy,  a  re- 
cluse indeed,  born  in  Tyrolean  Possagno, — through 
whose  veins  still  coursed  at  fifty  the  fire  of 
love, — gave  to  mankind,  in  1800,  this  thrilling 
version  of  the  old,  old  love  story.  Youngest  of 
three  lovely  sisters.  Psyche  incurred  the  jealousy 
of  Venus,  who  condemned  her  to  love  the  most 
hideous  and  contemptible  of  mortals.  Eros, — ever 
wide  awake, — determined  to  make  her  his  own, 
and  conveyed  her  mysteriously,  whilst  she  slept, 
to  a  nuptial  bed,  upon  a  lovely  mountain-top. 
His  visits  were  at  night-time,  and  he  vanished 
ere  the  dawn.  Searching  one  early  morning  for 
her  beloved  companion  she  came  on  him  pinioned 
by  the  dew.  Flashing  upon  the  prostrate,  god- 
like youngster,  her  golden,  flickering,  lamp,  she 


158    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

beheld  no  monster  but  the  comeliest  youth  in 
Paradise.  Butterfly-like  she  hovered  over  him, 
not  daring  to  touch  him,  though  thirsting  for  a 
stolen  kiss.  Down  by  his  side  she  laid,  but 
he,  bashful,  instantly  arose, — brushed  by  her 
gossamer-like  winglets.  Appealingly  she  extended 
her  ambrosial  arms  to  retain  her  lover,  but  he 
winged  away  his  flight  and  left  poor  Pysche  fixed 
with  a  silver  dart  right  through  her  heart.  Venus 
chanced  to  pass  Psyche's  couch  of  love,  and 
overheard  her  weeping  bitterly,  and  calling  Eros 
distractedly.  Instantly  she  seized  the  love-lorn 
deity, — no  daughter-in-law  should  she  be,  be- 
witching though  she  might  be, — and  clapped  her 
in  a  noisome  prison.  Psyche  was  love-sick  for 
Eros,  and  so  was  Eros  for  Psyche,  and  the  gods  of 
Olympus  granted  their  desire,  and  Psyche  entered 
the  Court  of  Heaven,  escorted  by  Mercury.  The 
offspring  of  those  amours  men  nowadays  call 
"  Pleasure  V  Canova  has  most  cunningly  con- 
fected  the  awakening  of  the  blessed  pair, — fated  to 
part  in  the  first  rosebud  of  their  love — a  perfect 
human  allegory  in  marble.  In  the  same  saloon  of 
the  Villa  Carlotta  is  another  convincing  creation  of 
the  same  master-hand,  a  more  complete  contrast 
to  the  Eros  and  Psyche  could  not  be  imagined — 
"  The  Magdalen."  Sunken,  broken-hearted  and 
penitent  upon  the  ground,  she  silently  proclaims 


"  LARIO  "  159 

the  bitterness  of  illicit  passion.  Her  story  is 
enshrined  in  the  life's  narrative  of  Christ, — its 
echo  reaches,  and  will  reach,  to  the  utmost  limits 
of  human  sympathy.  Centrally  placed  in  that 
villa  boudoir  of  the  "  Loves "  is  still  another 
marble  group, — not  by  Canova,  but  by  Acquisti, — 
"Mars  and  Venus."  If  the  goddess  had  to  relin- 
quish her  beauteous  boy  to  Psyche,  Mars 
she  held  in  thrall — woman,  the  "  Superman  "  in 
celestial  cult  as  well  as  in  matters  of  the  world  ! 
This,  too,  is  an  inspiring  work,  for  the  sculptor 
has  made  his  marble  think,  and  plot,  and  counter- 
plot, and  all  but  live  and  move. 

In  truth,  this  very  captivating  salon  at  Caden- 
abbia  is  a  precious  casket,  like  Pandora's,  wherein 
are  found  imperishably  preserved  the  human 
passions  which  have  inspired  the  lives  and  fortunes 
of  the  "  Lords  and  Ladies  of  the  Italian  Lakes  " 
whose  romances  fill  these  pages. 

There  are  more  things  of  deep  interest  in  the 
villa,  and  its  gardens  are  unmatchable  for  beauty 
and  for  rarity  of  plants  and  trees.  Within  the 
beautiful  little  chapel  of  Sommariva,  by  the  lake, 
is  a  very  chaste  '^  Pieta,''  in  costly  crystal  marble, 
too.  Its  contemplation  in  that  hallowed  fane 
brings  the  mind  of  busy  mankind,  intent  on 
pleasure,  to  view  the  scriptural  expression  of  the 
mystery  of  Love — the  dead  Christ  lying  across  his 

11 


160    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

Mother's  knees.  So,  when  the  human  heart  has 
thumped  out  aU  its  fierce  desires,  there  remains 
nothing  for  the  Ufeless  body  but  to  lie  prone  along 
dear  Mother  Earth  ;  but,  after  all,  "  Cupid  "  is 
stronger  than  death,  and  "  Psyche,"  the  soul, 
never  dies  ! 

We  pass  out  into  the  shadow  of  the  giant- 
leaved  plane-trees  in  the  avenue  by  the  lake,  and 
behold  the  garish  glories  of  the  shimmering  heat 
contentedly,  for  at  Cadenabbia  Longfellow  is 
close  by — the  sweetest  EngUsh  singer  of  the 
simple  life,  and  we  read  him  thus  : 

*'  I  pace  the  leafy  colonnade, 

Where  level  branches  of  the  plane 
Above  me  weave  a  roof  of  shade, 
Impervious  to  the  sun  or  rain. 

"  By  Sommariva's  garden  gate, 

I  make  the  marble  steps  my  seat, 
And  hear  the  water  as  I  wait 
Lapping  the  steps  beneath  my  feet. 

"  The  hills  sweep  upward  from  the  shore. 
With  villas  scattered  one  by  one 
Upon  their  wooded  spurs,  and  lower, 
Bellagio  blazing  in  the  sun. 

"  And  dimly  seen,  a  tangled  mass 

Of  walls  and  woods,  in  light  and  shade, 
Stands  beckoning  up  the  Stelvio  Pass 
Varenna,  with  its  white  cascade. 

"  I  ask  myself,  '  Is  this  a  dream  ? 
Will  it  all  vanish  into  air  ? 
Is  there  a  land  of  such  supreme 
And  perfect  beauty  anywhere  V 


"LARIO'*  161 

"  Sweet  vision  !     Do  not  ffide  away  ; 
Linger  until  my  heart  shall  take 
Into  itself  the  summer  day 

And  all  the  beauty  of  the  lake  : 

"  Linger  until  upon  my  brain 

Is  stamped  an  image  of  the  scene, 
Then  fade  into  the  air  again 
And  be  as  if  thou  hadst  not  been  !"* 

Longfellow  loved  Cadenabbia,  and  there  he 
wrote  many  of  his  idyllic  poems.  He  loved  to 
gaze  across  the  glittering  water  at  Bellagio  in  its 
magical  effulgence, — a  dream  land  of  fancy  and 
of  fact.  Bellagio  called  to  the  poet ;  she  calls  to 
the  prosaic,  too,  as  well  as  to  the  romantic 
among  her  many  visitors  to-day.  The  call  of 
Bellagio  is  to  cross  over  and  pick  up  acquaintance- 
ship with  some  of  the  "  Lords  and  Ladies,"  who 
there  have  lived  and  died,  and  who  haunt  the 
villas  of  her  crown ;  to  cross  the  cloud-hued 
wavelets  ever  gyrating  in  brilliant  ballet,  and 
heed  not  siren's  cry  the  while.  But  willing, 
very  willing,  though  we  be  to  rally  to  the  signal, 
another  cry  arrests  us  as  we  step  aboard  our 
awninged  gondola — a  cry  from  the  heights  above 
the  Villa  Carlotta — a  cry  from  lofty  Griante  to 
climb  up  to  her  village  green  and  behold  her 
beauties  and  listen  to  her  story. 

*  From  a  poem  in  manuscript,  written  by  Longfellow  at 
Cadenabbia,  and  preserved  in  the  office  of  the  Hotel  Belle 
Vue  there. 


162    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

It  is  the  first  Sunday  in  September,  and  the 
whole  village,  with  its  pretty  church,  withal 
ancient  though  it  be,  is  en  fete — "  La  Festa  de* 
Canestri'' — the  Feast  of  Baskets — in  fact,  the 
Harvest  Festival.  All  the  countryfolk,  great  and 
small,  foregather  at  the  parish  church  for  very 
early  Mass,  bringing  with  them  their  offerings  to 
Christ's  altar,  most  tastefully  arranged  in  big 
new  wicker  baskets.  An  amazing  variety  of 
firstfruits  is  presented  to  the  parish  priest  for 
benediction  and  acceptance, — living  animals  and 
birds,  fresh-caught  fish,  fruit  from  the  orchards, 
grain  from  the  fields,  and  roots,  newly  crushed  oil, 
and  freshly  trod  juice  of  grapes ;  with  sugar-loaves 
and  loaves  of  bread,  butter,  cheese,  and  eggs, 
side  by  side  with  tinned  meats  and  stuffs,  and 
sausages  and  tasty  jam-tarts.  As  heterogeneous 
in  dress  as  in  their  offerings,  the  peasants  and  the 
farmers  and  their  children,  with  gay  banners  and 
quaint  crucifixes  and  lighted  lanterns  in  honour 
of  the  Host,  with  exuberant  grimace,  gesticulation, 
and  rush  of  noisy  words,  call  forth  echoes  and 
reflections  from  green  woods  and  polished  stones. 
The  men  and  boys,  bare-headed  and  be-clogged, 
have  covered  their  well-stitched  gathered  smocks 
with  coarse  linen  surplices  and  scarlet  capes ; 
the  women  and  girls,  in  highly  coloured  stuffs 
and    calicoes,    are    discreetly    veiled     in    black 


"LARIO"  163 

veils  and  white,  and  all  wear  posies  of  natural 
fragrant  blossoms  at  breast  or  by  way  of  coronal. 
They  are  all  members  of  religious  communities  ; 
mostly  of  the  '' Buona  Morte,''  and  carry  their 
Prayer-Books  with  rosaries,  and  badges  of  their 
guilds.  What  heaven-lifting  voices  those  lusty  sons 
of  agriculture  possess :  the  old  men  and  the  young 
vie  with  one  another  to  drown  the  sweeter 
cadences,  if  nasal,  of  their  womenfolk !  All 
know,  word  by  word,  the  oft-sung  litanies  ;  all 
recite  the  well-remembered  prayers  ;  all  march 
with  swinging  strides  decorously  through  lane 
and  pasture-land,  in  and  out  of  rocky  corners, 
and  around  quaint  house-ends,  the  Pievano  at 
their  head.  Halting  here  and  there  for  ritual 
acts  of  thanksgiving,  until  the  whole  district  has 
been  well  traversed,  and  the  processionists  squat 
themselves  down  about  the  church  once  more  and 
await  the  excitement  of  the  auction.  This  is  a 
remarkable  competition,  joined  in  by  "  Lords  and 
Ladies  of  the  Lake,"  personified  not  only  by 
descendants  of  romantic  forbears  of  the  past, 
but  by  sympathetic  visitors  from  afar,  Americans 
for  the  most  part.  The  profits  of  the  sale  are 
pocketed  by  the  Pievano,  for  the  maintenance 
of  the  fabric  of  the  church  and  for  its  functions. 
When  all  is  over  the  country  -  people  quietly 
return  to  their  farms  and  hovels  to  resume  the 


164    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

year's  toil  and  to  bear  their  burdens  stoically, 
whilst  overseas  visitors  carry  away  pleasurable 
impressions  to  store  in  head  and  heart. 

Bellagio,  indeed,  still  calls  us  over  the  fabled, 
fairy  waters,  and  we  fain  would  go,  but  other 
voices  call, — voices  out  of  fathomless  deeps, — 
sirens  of  the  lake.  Psyche-like  they  yearn  for 
lovers  ;  vampire-like  they  crave  men's  blood.  For 
the  nincompoop  and  molly-coddle  care  they  not 
one  whit :  their  lust  is  for  the  beauty  of  Adonis, 
the  culture  of  Apollo  and  the  energy  of  Mercury. 
They  count  their  human  prey  by  hundreds — 
submerged  never  to  reappear.  A  finer  oarsman 
than  Edward  Royds  never  stroked  for  his  Uni- 
versity ;  a  noble  life  was  his,  and  full  of  promise ; 
daring  beyond  his  fellows,  and  resourceful,  too. 
A  summer's  morn  tempted  him  to  swim  in  the 
cool  water ;  many  such  had  charmed  him.  He 
took  his  wonted  plunge,  right  in  the  middle  of 
the  lake ;  his  friend, — who  now  sets  down  this 
record, — regained  the  boat  in  safety,  but  Royds 
never  scaled  that  stem.  Somewhere  in  a 
mysterious  cavern  under  the  dissimulating  flood 
his  body  rests  till  the  crack  of  doom,  shrouded 
by  the  floating  strands  of  hair  of  cruel  lake- 
maidens.  It  was  a  double  tragedy  for  Cadden- 
abbia.  Cupid's  gentle  arrow  became  a  poisoned 
dart  in  the  stricken  heart  of  a  lovely  English  girl. 


<0        I 


% 


"LARIO"  165 

She  drooped  and  died  within  a  twelvemonth]^  of 
her  lover's  loss.  One  other  domestic  tragedy  is 
connected  in  the  writer's  mind  with  the  mirrored 
whirlpool  of  the  lake-maidens  twixt  Cadenabbia 
and  Bellagio.  Decorated  for  valour  upon  the  field 
of  battle  by  the  grateful  King  of  Prussia, — 
first  German  Emperor, — young  George  Lampson 
was  a  valiant  medical  volunteer,  although  an 
American,  in  the  ranks  of  the  allied  Teuton 
armies.  Gifted  very  greatly  with  physical  and 
mental  attributes,  the  world  and  its  successes 
were  his  apparently  to  command  at  will ;  he  was  a 
pet  Fairy  Fortune.  Caddenabbia  was  the  sana- 
torium for  his  wounds  and  the  arena  of  his 
pleasures.  He  ministered  skilfully  to  many  an 
ailing  sojourner  by  that  beauteous  lake,  putting 
by  his  up  -  to  -  date  methods  the  hoary  mis- 
wisdoms  of  local  medicos  to  shame.  He  treated 
most  successfully, — when  she  was  suddenly  taken 
very  ill, — the  dear  one,  to  whom  in  part  I  have 
dedicated  these  romances  of  the  Italian  lakes. 
Two  years  passed,  and  then  the  hero  was  hailed 
before  a  Criminal  Court,  tried  for  murder,  con- 
demned, and  hanged  !  At  Wimbledon,  in  Surrey, 
dwelt  a  delicate  youth,  Valentine,  George  Lamp- 
son's  cousin.  In  England  for  his  health  and 
education,  and  heir  to  countless  dollars,  his  was 
the  only  life  between  the  testator  and  his  cousin. 


166    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

A  devil  entered  the  sunny  heart  of  the  young 
doctor,  now  the  husband  of  a  charming  EngUsh 
girl.  Visits  to  Valentine  became  the  order  of  the 
day,  but  the  youth  grew  feebler  and  whiter  week 
by  Aveek.  Nothing  that  his  cousin  brought  him 
gave  more  delight  than  boxes  of  rich  choco- 
lates. The  post-mortem  proclaimed  the  presence 
of  strychnine — strychnine  in  the  chocolate — this 
was  George  Lampson's  crime !  His  untimely 
and  unworthy  end  was  not  the  end  of  tragedy. 
A  young  wife,  soon  to  be  a  mother,  brought  forth 
prematurely,  through  the  shock,  a  still-born  child, 
and  was,  alas  !  buried  in  her  offspring's  grave. 
These  were  like  other  tragedies  of  the  Italian  lakes, 
which  count  their  victims  by  a  lengthy  roll,  but  the 
great  world  beyond  knows  little  of  such  hap- 
penings. Perhaps  chance  conventional  para- 
graphs in  some  journal  are  all  the  record.  The 
prime  function  of  creation  is  destruction  ;  life  is 
but  a  complexity  of  contradictions,  and  Providence, 
so  misnamed,  is  a  vendetta  ! 

Many  villas  now  constellate  around  San  Gio- 
vanni di  Bellagio,  but  they  are  modern  in  their 
vogue,  yet  some  of  them  have  links  with  a  romantic 
past.  Melzi, — the  most  conspicuous  among  them, 
— is  of  very  recent  date.  Built  by  Count  Fran- 
cesco Melzi  d'  Erile,  Vice-President  of  the  abortive 
Cis- Alpine   Republic,   in   1814,  it  is  a  link  with 


"  LARIO  "  167 

the  most  shining  genius  of  a  century.  Buona- 
parte created  Count  Francesco  Duke  of  Lodi,  and 
on  him  showered  numerous  distinctions.  Local 
tradition  has  it  that  the  great  Corsican  spent 
many  a  strenuous  hour  in  the  delightful  retreat, 
working  out  his  mighty  schemes.  When  on 
campaign  he  gave  himself  little  or  no  time  for 
relaxation  and  pleasure.  Duchess  Josephine 
Melzi  -  Barbo, — the  Emperor's  goddaughter, — 
decorated  the  villa  pretty  much  as  we  see  it 
to-day.  The  chapel  is  remarkable  for  an  un- 
conventional and  unique  figure  of  Christ, — a 
youth  in  meditation, — and  for  two  frescoes, 
which  are  sure  to  strike  the  eye  and  set  the  mind 
inquiring.  They  are  family  memorials  of  an 
earlier  Francesco  Melzi  d'  Erile,  and  of  his  dear 
friend  and  master  the  great  Leonardo  da  Vinci. 
One  represents  Leonardo  imparting  instruction  to 
the  young  Count ;  the  other,  Francesco  receiving 
the  master's  last  bequest — his  studio  at  Milan. 
Between  master  and  pupil  existed  an  impassioned 
friendship.  The  family  of  Melzi  possessed  a 
beautiful  country  house  at  Vaprio  in  the  valley 
of  the  Adda,  some  twenty  miles  from  Milan. 
Thither  Leonardo  fled  for  repose,  or  when  harassed 
by  the  attentions  of  the  French  soldiery.  When 
the  master  went,  in  1576,  on  his  way  to  Paris,  at 
the  bidding   of    King  Francis  1.,  his  boon  com- 


168    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

panion  was  his  young  friend,  Count  Francesco, 
more  like  a  son  or  a  younger  brother.  Three 
busy  years  only  were  vouchsafed  to  Leonardo, 
grown  old  but  still  ineffable,  and  then  death  took 
him.  Broken-hearted,  Francesco  carried  the  news 
to  their  royal  patron,  who  appointed  him  exe- 
cutor of  the  will  and  a  chamberlain  of  his  royal 
person.  Writing  to  his  father  from  the  Castle 
of  Amboise,  where  the  comrades  had  resided,  he 
concludes  a  sorrowful  epistle  thus  :  "  He  was  the 
kindest  of  fathers  to  me.  .  .  .  Nature  will  find  it 
hard  to  produce  such  another  great  man."  In 
the  grounds  of  Villa  Melzi  are  marble  busts 
by  Canova  of  Buonaparte's  mother  —  Madame 
Letitia  —  and  of  his  first  Empress — Josephine 
Beauharnais.  The  name  Josephine  has  now  been 
handed  down  for  three  generations  in  the  family 
of  Melzi  d'  Erile. 

The  Villas  Trotti,  Giulia,  Serbelloni,  and  Tri- 
vulzio  are  all  hard  by  Melzi.  Their  gardens  are 
contiguous,  each  one  a  vision  of  Paradise.  There 
is  not  much  that  may  be  told  of  some  of  these, 
but  the  Serbelloni, — now  called  Villa  Crevelli- 
Serbelloni, — has  romances  not  a  few ;  and  we 
must  put  back  the  scene  five  hundred  years  to 
get  at  the  beginning.  In  the  fourteenth  century 
the  towering  promontory  of  Bi-lacus  was  un- 
clothed with  gracious  foliage ;  it  was  a  rocky  head- 


"LARIO"  169 

land,  dominating,  from  its  impregnable  fortress, 
both  lakes — Ck)mo  and  Lecco.  Within  its  walls 
and  bastions  stood  armed  to  the  teeth  men  of 
blood  and  human  devils, — desperadoes  flying  from 
the  hand  of  justice. 

In  1376  Gian  Galeazzo  Visconti  subdued  the 
outlaws,  and  destroyed  their  stronghold,  and 
ordered  henceforth  no  man  to  dwell  there.  The 
Marquis  Stanga  of  Milan,  however,  loyal  ever  to 
his  master,  obtained  from  Lodovico  Sforza, — 
regent  and  ruler  both — the  right  to  plant  the 
eminence  with  trees  and  build  a  family  residence. 
Vain  was  his  handiwork,  for,  no  sooner  had  he 
moved  his  family  to  his  Larian  elysium,  and  his 
guests  had  commenced  to  come  and  go, — amazing 
the  fisherfolk  by  their  frolics  and  their  follies, — 
than  ravagers  once  more  pounced  upon  their  prey, 
— the  dreaded  Cavargnoni,  from  Menaggio, — and 
the  pleasaunce  was  laid  bare.  For  two  hundred 
years  the  Hill  of  Bi-lacus,  or  Bellagio,  was  a  waste, 
and  then  another  noble  Milanese — Count  Ercole 
Sfondrati — rebuilt  the  ruined  mansion  and  afforested 
the  promontory.  His  name  and  his  date — 1594 
— he  stuck  up  on  a  wall  washed  by  the  split 
waters  of  the  lake  at  the  point  of  land.  His 
family  became  extinct  at  the  end  of  the  eighteenth 
century,  and  their  property  passed  to  the  Duke 
Alessandro  Serbelloni.     At  the  point  of  the  head- 


170    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

land  is  a  ridge  of  hard  sharp  rocks,  and  there, 
according  to  the  story  still  rife  in  Bellagio,  in  a 
massive  castle  dwelt  a  human  siren- vampire — one 
Adeliza,  Countess  of  Borgomanero,  who  had  for 
her  iniquities  been  exiled  from  the  smiling  Val 
d'  Ossola.  She  set  up  her  Court,  or  charnel-house, 
in  this  inaccessible  spot,  and  set  as  well  no  bounds 
to  liaisons  with  every  passing  gallant — soldier  or 
troubadour.  Like  bad  Queen  Giovanna  II.  of 
Naples,  of  later  date,  she  had  a  very  simple  way 
of  ridding  herself  of  her  lovers  when  they  had  given 
her  what  she  craved.  They  were  expected  to 
commit  suicide  next  morning,  but  those  who 
shirked  this  quietus  were  dropped  willy-nilly 
through  steel-racked  oubliette  into  the  deep  lake 
below — where  there  were  no  tale-bearers,  and,  of 
course,  no  return  ! 

*  *  *  *  * 

"  Alia  memoria  di  Giulio  Mylius  "  is  the  dedica- 
tion of  a  very  beautiful  bas-relief,  by  the  sculptor 
Marchesi  the  younger,  upon  the  wall  of  a  marble 
temple  in  the  lovely  gardens  of  the  Villa  Wachs- 
Mylius  at  Loveno,  a  few  minutes'  walk  from  the 
Castello  di  Menaggio.  The  relief  represents  a 
youth  recumbent  upon  a  couch  at  the  moment  of 
death,  with  a  young  girl  bending  over  him, 
bitterly  weeping.  It  is  a  subject  full  of  pathos, 
and  few  who  look  upon  it  can  restrain  a  sigh  or  a 


"LARIO"  171 

tear ;  it  is  the  tragedy  of  Giulio  Mylius  and 
Anastasie  Kreutzner.  Giulio  lived  with  his 
parents, — well-to-do  merchants  of  Como,  who 
yearly  sojourned  in  their  Larian  lake-side  retreat. 
One  day  he  chanced  to  meet,  coming  out  of  the 
cathedral,  the  most  lovely  girl  he  had  ever  seen. 
She  was  the  ward  of  an  uncle  by  marriage,  whose 
sister  had  married  an  Austrian  noble  from  Passau, 
and  both  had  died  when  their  only  little  girl  was 
still  an  infant.  An  intimacy  naturally  sprang  up 
between  the  young  people,  and  guardians  on  both 
sides  acquiesced  in  the  engagement.  Unhappily 
Giulio  was  in  delicate  health,  and  his  religion, — 
Jewish, — was  a  ban  to  the  union.  He  was  sent 
to  travel  and  recuperate,  but  at  Trieste  he  lay 
sick  unto  death.  News,  lover-like,  was  not  slow 
in  reaching  Anastasie,  and  she  delayed  not  to  run 
away  from  home  and  join  her  fond  Giulio.  He 
pressed  her  to  marry  him,  dying  though  he  knew 
himself  to  be,  in  order  that  his  parents  might  take 
her  under  their  protection.  The  girl  consented, 
but  no  sooner  was  the  marriage-ring  placed  upon 
her  finger  than  her  spouse  fell  back  dead  in  her 
arms.  Giulio's  parents  stood  by  the  young  widow, 
and  took  her  into  their  house  and  home.  Some 
two  years  after,  Anastasie,  by  the  wish  of  Signore 
and  Madonna  Mylius,  married  Lucio  Vigone, — a 
prosperous  young  merchant  of  Milan, — and  Anas- 


172    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

tasie's  dowry  included  the  freehold  of  the  Villa 
Mylius  at  Menaggio.  Below  the  bas-relief  in  the 
garden  temple  is  this  touching  inscription  : 

"  Sul  fior  degli  anni  in  stranio  lido  li'  muore 
Eragli  amplessi  e  le  lagrime  de  suvi 
Al  bacio  vola  dell'  eterno  amore 
E  acerbo  duolo  e  cio  che  resta  a  noi."* 

The  date  of  this  pathetic  romance  is  1830. 

Prom  Menaggio  sprang  one  of  the  greatest  Ughts 
of  Lario^ — "/Z  Cavalier e  Aretino  " — whose  real  name 
was  Leone  Leoni.  A  goldsmith  by  profession,  he 
first  became  famous  as  a  medallist,  and  entered 
the  service  of  the  Emperor  Charles  V.  His  chef- 
(Toeuvre  was  a  bronze  statue  of  His  Majesty  in  pure 
white  Carrara  marble,  to  which  he  added,  very 
judiciously,  flesh-tints  here  and  there.  This  figure, 
— the  size  of  fife, — he  clothed  with  costly  steel 
armour,  which  he  forged  himself,  to  be  removed  at 
will — a  great  novelty  in  the  art  of  the  sculptor. 
This  remarkable  creation  is  now  at  Madrid,  and  on 
the  pedestal  are  inscribed  Leoni's  words  :  "  Coesaris 
virtute  furor  domitus  " — having  reference  to  the 
chained  figure  of  "  Fury  "  under  the  Emperor's 
heel.  Ennobled  by  his  much  gratified  patron 
and  endowed  with  a  splendid  residence  in  Milan, 

*  *'  In  the  flower  of  young  life,  on  an  alien  shore, 
He  died — caresses  and  tears  for  him  bore 
His  friends.     From  the  kiss  of  love  to  the  kiss  of  God 
He  pass'd,  but  left  us  in  grief  till  the  last  reward." 


"LARIO"  173 

the  Cavaliere  gave  himseK  up  to  pleasure  and 
extravagance.  No  man  loved  more  women,  no 
man  fought  more  duels,  than  did  the  magnificent 
Leoni ;  but  his  career  of  adventure  was  abruptly 
ended  when,  having  insulted  Messer  Giovanni 
Trebbio,  the  Papal  jeweller  at  Milan,  by  way  of 
denial  of  an  intrigue  with  his  wife,  he  was  arrested 
and  sentenced  to  the  galleys.  Luckily  at  Genoa 
he  had  many  friends, — persons  of  wealth  and 
influence, — among  them  the  veteran  Ruler  of  the 
city — the  admirable  Andrea  Doria.  Set  at  liberty, 
he  wrote  a  vindication  of  his  conduct  to  Pietro 
Aretino, — one  of  his  most  intimate  correspondents 
and  admirers, — wherein  he  humorously  attacked 
the  clergy  for  their  interference  with  his  liberty. 
"  I  pass  my  time,"  he  wrote,  "  in  snapping  my 
fingers  at  their  reverences,  trusting  that  Providence 
will  one  day  cause  such  bad  men  to  burst !" 
There  are  many  other  tales  about  this  boisterous 
CavaUere,  pointing  him  out  as  a  boon  companion 
for  Torrigiano — the  smasher  of  Buonarroti's  nose  ! 
One  of  these  is  characteristic  of  the  rest.  Thrown 
into  company  at  Venice, — whence  he  fared  upon 
his  liberation  from  durance  at  Genoa — with 
Titian,  he  invited  the  great  master's  son  to 
accompany  him  to  his  native  place  Menaggio,  that 
he  might  admit  its  greater  charm  over  the  Dolo- 
mite  village  of   Cadore.      His  guest   had   about 


174    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

him  a  considerable  sum  of  money,  which  the 
Cavaliere  claimed,  and  when  young  Vecellio 
acknowledged  the  superiority  of  the  Larian  domi- 
cile, not  content  with  a  mild  request,  he  followed 
up  pretensions  by  a  challenge  to  fight  it  out.  The 
young  man  only  yielded  when  he  had  felt  more  than 
once  the  sharp  pin-pricks  of  his  adversary's  steel ! 

Quite  aptly  here  a  quotation  from  James 
Addington  Symonds  comes  into  mind  :  *'  So  extra- 
ordinary were  the  social  circumstances  of  Renais- 
sance Italy,  that  almost  at  every  turn,  on  her  sea- 
board, in  her  cities,  from  her  hilltops,  and  by  her 
lakes,  we  are  compelled  to  blend  our  admiration 
for  the  loveliest  and  purest  works  of  art  amid  the 
choicest  scenes  of  nature,  with  memories  of 
execrable  crimes  and  lawless  characters." 

Looking  from  Menaggio,  or  Loveno,  to  Bellano, 
the  lake  is  at  its  widest,  and  as  we  row  across 
in  a  stout  market-boat,  the  snowy  giants  of  the 
Alps  stand  out  of  the  azure  sky  in  gaunt  reHef^ — a 
notable  panorama.  Bellano  is  a  very  busy  little 
place, — she  always  was, — and  ambitious  too.  Here, 
in  days  long  passed,  the  feuds  between  the  Torriani 
and  the  Visconti, — which  devastated  almost  every 
part  of  Lombardy, — raged  savagely.  The  former 
at  first  had  the  upper  hand,  for  Napoleone  deUa 
Torre  conquered  the  Valtellina,  and  led  the  village 
maidens, — after  the  manner  of  the  Latin  Lombard 


"LARIO"  175 

conquerors, — tied  behind  his  war-chariot.  He 
died  in  1278,  and  then  the  Visconti  drew  con- 
clusions with  his  adherents  at  the  bidding  of  the 
outraged  villagers.  The  Visconti  retained  Bellano 
for  their  own  ;  Azzone  of  that  ilk  made  the  port  a 
pendant  good  work  to  the  church  erected  by  his 
uncle  Giovanni,  Archbishop  and  Lord  of  Milan. 

Upon  the  stone  pier,  jutting  out  well  into  the 
lake,  is  a  monument,  not  of  a  Visconto  or  of  a 
Torriano,  but  of  a  gentler  "Lord  of  the  Lake" — 
the  poet  Tommaso  Grossi,  bom  at  Bellano  in  179L 
He  graduated  in  law  at  Pavia,  and  then  in  Cupid's 
University  at  Milan,  where  it  is  said  "  he  made  the 
women  cry."  They  cried  their  eyes  out  for  grief 
at  the  wrongs  he  told  in  his  tragic  poem,  "  Ilde- 
gonda,''  put  forth  in  1820.  The  sex  went  mad 
indeed  over  this  touching  story — Ildegonda  veils, 
Ildegonda  kerchiefs,  Ildegonda  bonnets,  Ildegonda 
shoes,  and  Ildegonda  stays  were  all  the  mode. 
And  who,  pray,  was  fair  "Ildegonda"?  The 
visionary  daughter  of  the  ValteUina  chieftain, 
whom  a  Visconto  had  wronged  in  the  long-buried 
past.  She  was  a  mediaeval  maiden,  whose  father 
dwelt  at  the  lofty  Castle  of  TegUo,  this  side  of 
Tirano,  where  he  kept  in  awe  his  vassals.  Consigned 
to  the  charge  of  the  nuns  at  Sondrio,  whilst  the 
war-dogs  were  let  loose,  gallant  young  Rizzardo 
of  the  hamlet  of  San  Giacomo  discovered  his  loved 

12 


176    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

one's  retreat.  They  fled  together,  heedless  of 
danger  and  of  consequences,  but  Cupid  had  not 
taken  Fortune  into  his  confidence,  and,  alas !  the 
fugitives  were  captured.  Ildegonda,  parted  from 
her  lover,  was  carried  back  to  Sondrio,  and 
Rizzardo  relegated  to  a  dungeon  at  Teglio.  There, 
after  a  manufactured  charge  of  heresy,  the  love- 
lorn lad  was  burnt  for  a  heretic,  and  poor  little 
Ildegonda  fretted  out  her  sweet  young  Ufe,  and 
joined  her  swain  in  Paradise.  Tommaso  Grossi 
died  in  1853,  leaving,  besides  his  lovely  epic,  other 
poems  and  stories  of  the  good  old  times.  The  last 
year  of  his  life  he  spent  with  the  patriot  poet- 
writer,  Alassandro  Manzoni,  the  graceful  author 
of  **/  Promessi  SposV^ 

And  now  our  tales  of  "  Lords  and  Ladies  "  of 
the  Lake  of  Como  are  wellnigh  told,  but  before 
we  bid  adieu  to  the  "Glass  of  Venus,"  we  must 
speed  over  the  dancing  wavelets,  and  find  out 
what  Gravedona  and  her  neighbours  have  to  tell 
us.  The  head  of  Lake  Como  bristles  with  fort- 
resses, now  mighty  ruins,  significant  of  warring 
times — Rezzonico,  Musso,  and  Corenno,  and  the 
restored  Palazzo  del  Peco,  with  four  great  towers, 
at  Gravedona,  wherein : — 

"  In  the  long  while  of  times  of  yore, 
When  slain  men  lay  in  crimson  gore, 
And  maidens  fair,  the  prey  of  rape, 
Were  had  to  view  within  the  gate." 


*'LARIO'*  177 

The  name  of  a  Mediceo  clings  to  the  stones  of 
Musso — Giangiacomo  de'  Medici,  "  II  Medeghino  " 
— the  Trimmer,  we  may  call  him.  His  father 
was  a  cousin  of  Giovanni  delle  Bandenera,  his 
mother  a  Serbelloni  of  Milan.  Giangiacomo  came 
into  possession  of  the  Rocca  di  Musso  surrepti- 
tiously. In  some  way  or  other  Franesco  Sforza, — 
the  last  of  that  ruling  House, — was  beholden  to 
'*  II  Medeghino,"  and  to  square  his  account  he  gave 
over  the  fief  of  Musso  which  had  fallen  to  him  to 
Giangiacomo,  with  an  emphatic  proviso — that  he 
should  undertake  to  kill  Martino  Visconti,  who 
was  a  thorn  in  the  Duke's  side.  This  deed  was 
promptly  executed,  and  in  1525  Giangiacomo  de' 
Medici  became  Lord  of  Musso  and  Captain- 
General  of  the  Lake.  He  maintained  a  fleet  of 
armed  vessels,  and  a  fighting  force  of  several 
thousand  men.  In  turn  he  served  himself  of 
Frank,  Spaniard,  Milanese,  and  Swiss,  and  when 
he  had  set  them  fighting  one  another,  he  became 
the  arbiter  with  the  laurels  all  his  own.  Plunder, 
intrigue,  and  murder  reigned  unchecked,  and  it  is 
marvellous  how  the  astute  Capitano  kept  his 
head,  his  castle,  and  his  purse.  At  last  prudence 
gave  way  to  impetuosity,  and  he  arrayed  himself 
against  his  quondam  patron,  the  Duke  of  Milan, 
who  was  only  too  pleased  to  place  his  heel  upon 
the  Condottiere'sneck.     In  1529  favourable  terms 


178    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

of  peace  were  made,  whereby  Giangiacomo  was 
despoiled  of  his  Castle  of  Musso,  and  his  titles  of 
Marquis  of  Musso  and  Captain-General  of  Lario 
and  Lecco  were  merged  in  the  less  romantic 
Marquisate  of  Marignano,  in  the  plain  of  Lodi. 
The  rest  of  his  days  he  spent  in  the  service  of 
intriguing  Dukes  and  Marquises,  his  weapon  ever 
ready  to  stab  an  undesirable  to  the  heart,  and 
few  soldiers  of  fortune  have  as  many  victims 
upon  their  list  as  had  he.  A  splendid  monument 
covers  his  remains  in  Milan  Cathedral,  erected  by 
his  brother,  Pope  Pius  IV.,  who  was  a  cordial 
patron  of  his  villainies.  It  was  said  that  all 
Milan  mourned  for  the  Marquis  of  Marignano. 
It  was  a  work,  indeed,  of  supererogation,  but 
perhaps,  like  most  base  men,  he  had  his 
good  points,  and  they  appealed  to  the  populace. 
People  do  not  probe  too  deeply  the  private 
life  of  their  heroes ;  if  a  man  is  masterful 
and  successful  it  is  sufficient — details  are  matters 
of  indifference.  Thus  the  world  judges  its 
idols. 

The  Palazzo  del  Peco  attracts  the  eye  of  all  who 
pass  by  Gravedona.  It  is,  perhaps,  the  biggest 
building  on  the  lake,  and  certainly  the  most 
imposing.  Built  for  that  Larian  benefactor  and 
potentate,  Cardinal  Tolomeo  GaUio,  in  1586,  by 
his  protege  Tibaldo  of  Val  Solda,  his  Eminence, 


"LARIO'*  179 

marking   the  zenith  of  his  career,    "  placed  his 
head    at    Gravedona,    whilst    his    feet    were    at 
Cemobbio."     His   was   the  freehold   of  the  Tre 
Pievi,  or  three  parishes,  Gravedona,  Serico,  and 
Dongo,  and,  besides  his  properties  near  Campo 
and  Como,  he  owned  estates  at  Scaldasole  near 
Pavia,  at  the  Bagni  di  Lucca,  and  elsewhere.     It 
was  said  of  him  that,  "  travelling  seven  days  direct 
between   the   Palazzo   del   Peco   and   his   titular 
church  in  Rome,  he  never  slept  out  of  his  own 
house."     Away  back  in  the  twelfth  century  the 
unruly   forbears  of   the    Pievensi  gained  an  un- 
enviable  notoriety.     "  Pardon   all   but   the   per- 
fidious men  of  Gravedona  !"  was  the  sentence  of 
an  outraged  Emperor,  Frederic  Barbarosa,  when 
at  Constance  he  granted  peace  and  privileges  to 
the  defiant  Lombardian  rallies.     Two  years  later 
these  turbulent  families  gained  the  freedom  of  their 
lands,  but  another  tyranny,  far  more  deadly  than 
the  Teuton  scourge,  settled  down  on  Gravedona 
and  her  sister  Republics.     In  less  than  a  single 
century  the  Holy  Office  of  the  Inquisition  was 
set  up  in  the  Tre  Pievi  under  Peter  of  Verona — 
St.  Peter,  Martyr.     His  zeal  for  persecution  first 
broke  out  at  Florence,  where,  smarting  under  a 
scandal  of  his  cloister  at  Como,  he  resolved  upon 
revenge.     He  first  pounced  upon,  as  Inquisitor- 
General   of   Pope   Honorius   III.,    the   harmless 


180    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

benevolent  institutions  of  the  capital  city — "  The 
Brethren,"  "  The  Band  of  Love,"  "  The  Disciples 
of  Chastity" — and  other  such  dogmatic  societies, 
who,  beside  being  lukewarm  in  their  love  of 
Rome,  were  accused  of  being  favourable  to  the 
Ghibelline  cause.  For  nineteen  years  this 
"  Scourge  of  God  "  relentlessly  ploughed  lake  and 
land,  tracking  to  their  doom  luckless  and  inoffen- 
sive countrjrfolk  and  folk  of  higher  grade.  Burnings 
for  heresy  were  seen  in  every  hamlet  on  the  lake, 
and  at  Gravedona  the  fires  of  persecution  devoured 
whole  families.  At  length  the  deep  rancour  of  the 
survivors  found  vengeance  for  their  wrongs,  and 
on  April  21,  1252,  Peter  the  Inquisitor, — with 
another  brother  of  his  Order, — were  decoyed  into 
a  wood  at  Barlassina,  midway  between  Como  and 
Milan,  where  terrible  sword-thrusts  clove  their 
skulls  in  twain.  Canonized  by  Innocent  IV. 
the  following  year,  St.  Peter  Martyr's  shrine 
in  the  ancient  Church  of  Sant'  Eustorgio  in 
Milan,  —  a  very  splendid  monument,  —  became 
a  holy  place  for  pilgrims  from  afar.  The 
Saint's  head,  with  its  great  gashed  wound, 
and  the  blood-covered  blade,  used  to  be  ex- 
hibited to  the  curious  and  devout  on  payment 
of  a  fee. 

Gravedona   contains   many   interesting   monu- 
ments of  the  earliest  Christian  days,  and  miracu- 


m5 

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«     ^     1 

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o    o    -s 

o 

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''LARIO"  181 

lous  Madonnas  not  a  few.  Among  quaint  epitaphs 
upon  forgotten  worthies  one  runs  as  follows  : 

*'  Grande  paten tia  hio  porta va  perffa  che  V  arma  sia  Salvada. 
Per  I'avarixia  che  a  abinda  Tanima  mia  a  son  perduda."* 

The  saintly  figure  to  which  this  is  inscribed  is  that 
of  a  man  who  wears  across  his  breast  a  scroll 
bearing  the  single  word  "  Gravedona." 

The  women  of  the  Tre  Pievi  still  wear  their 
distinctive  dress,  a  brown  Benedictine  smock, 
without  sleeves,  reaching  to  below  the  knees,  and 
girt  about  the  waist  by  a  leathern  strap.  The 
bodice  is  of  white  linen,  and  a  woollen  petticoat 
is  worn  below  the  scapular.  This  costume  is  the 
record  of  a  vow  made  by  the  whole  community, 
when  in  1450  pestilence,  flood,  and  famine,  in 
quick  succession,  devastated  the  northern  shores  of 
Lake  Como. 

The  ruined  Castle  of  Fuentes, — once  the  key  to 
the  valleys  debouching  upon  the  head  of  the  lake, — 
a  few  miles  beyond  Colico,  was  built  by  the 
Spanish  invaders  in  1603,  and  its  destruction  dates 
from  the  triumph  of  the  French  in  1796.  It  gains 
its  name  from  Count  Ignacio  del  Fuentes,  the 
Spanish  Governor  of  Lombardy,  and  its  reputation 
as  a  terror-spot  from  the  atrocities  practised  upon 
its   unhappy   prisoners.     One   of  these   was   the 

*  **  Patience  great  I  exercised  my  soul  to  save. 
Lost  my  soul ! — to  avarice  myself  I  gave." 


182    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

celebrated  Antonio  Maria  Stampa  of  Gravedona. 
The  only  ostensible  reason  for  his  seizure  was  that 
he  was  "  an  outlandish  sort  of  man,  given  to  much 
musing  and  the  study  of  evil  things,  and  a 
suspect."  He  wrote  during  his  captivity  an 
imaginary  history  of  his  time  and  town,  full  of 
extravagances.  His  unfortunate  family  also  felt 
the  sting  of  persecution  ;  their  goods  were  con- 
fiscated, and  they  were  compelled  to  undertake 
menial  offices  for  the  garrison.  Over  the  rude 
blocks  of  tumbled  masonry  of  the  old  fortress 
kindly  Nature  has  spread  her  carpet  of  greenery. 
Walnut-trees  grow  in  courtyards  where  mailed 
warriors  strode,  and  grape-bearing  vines  cover 
secret  chambers  where  sorrowful  maidens  wept, 
and  each  poured  out  "  a  woman's  soul,  most  soft, 
most  strong."  Perhaps  Venus  after  all  had  such 
a  second  self  when  she  had  conquered  Mars  ! 
The  fascination  of  Lake  Como  is  indescribable  ! 


CHAPTER  IV 

LECCO 
LAKE  OF  LECCO — BRIANZA — CASTLE  OF  MILAN 

Lecco  is  the  will-o'-the-wisp  among  the  North 
ItaHan  lakes  ;  not,  indeed,  that  she  aqueously  is 
here  and  there  and  everywhere,  but  her  name 
betokens  her  character — the  coin  of  echo,  the 
acme  of  daintiness,  the  blush  of  temptation — in 
short,  Diana  of  the  Gods  !  Artemis  of  mytho- 
logy was  sister  of  Apollo,  goddess  of  the  chase, 
and  protectress  of  the  young  and  the  suffering. 
Her  love,  Endymion,  she  kissed  in  sleep,  and  the 
loves  of  this  well -matched  pair  illustrate  the 
association  of  Lecco  and  the  Brianza.  By  in- 
version of  the  metaphor — the  pleasure-grounds 
of  the  "  Verdant  Land "  enshrine  the  sportive 
deity,  whilst  she  looks  out  languishingly  upon 
the  mirror-face  of  the  beautiful  sleep-dowered 
lake. 

Diana  is  the  fascinating  inspiratrix  of  the 
Brianza.  The  Lake  of  Lecco  is  her  bath ;  a 
bevy  of  bewitching  Bacchantes  encircle  her  with 

183 


184    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

crystal-emerald  lakelets, — each  a  water-nymph  of 
rare  enchantment  —  Annona,  Pusiano,  Segrino, 
Alserio,  and  Montorfano.  The  resplendent  pen- 
dant Diana  wears  on  her  pulsating  bosom  is 
metaphorically  the  diamond  jewel  of  Lake  Garlate, 
with  its  pearl-drop  of  Olgiate.  The  chaste  feet 
of  the  fascinating  goddess, — perfect  in  shape, 
elegant  in  step, — rest,  or  pitter-patter  as  she 
wills,  within  the  Sforza  Castle  of  Milan  ! 

"  Che  qui  tra  gioghi  Briantei  primiero, 
II  coUe  Gemezian  erge  le  cime, 
Come  ite  belle  fanno,  arte  e  natura. 
Ricco  per  I'acqua  del  Pusiano,  il  Lambro 
Contortuoso  giro  in  due  lo  parte, 
Ora  tente  sorrendo — ora  tra  sassi 
Con  un  ingrato  mormorio  spumando."* 

(From  "7Z  Gernetto''  poem  by  Abbate  Lodovico 

POLIDOBI). 

This  stanza  was  composed  within  the  lovely 
gardens  of  the  villa  of  Conte  Giangiacomo  della 
SomagHa — called  "/Z  Gernetto,"  which  belonged 
originally,  in  the  middle  of  the  fourteenth 
century,  to  the  Milanese  family  of  Rozzini.  The 
prospect   from    the   terrace   embraces  the  whole 

*  "  Would'st  gain  Brianza's  sweet  enchantment  ? 
Speed  thee  to  Gernezian's  escarpment, 
Source  whence,  embellish'd  by  Nature  and  Art, 
And  enrich'd  on  sweet  Pusiano's  part. 
The  Lambro  wanders — now  tortuously, 
Now  softly  murmuring, — now  noisily 
Rolls  ungrateful  rocks,  smooth  and  froth-fretted." 


LECCO  186 

gorgeous  "  Pian  d'Erba " — the  Plain  of  the 
Verdant  Land  —  a  delicious  title  for  the  whole 
Brianza." 

I. 

The  Lake  of  Leeco  has  something  of  Scandi- 
navian grandeur ;  five  majestic  mountains,  like 
giant  fingers  of  a  colossal  hand,  enclose  its  deep 
green  waters — sleep-rocked  and  echoing.  The 
''  Resegone  di  Lecco,'' — brother  to  the  Rohzahne  of 
Bozen, — resembles  a  great  saw  on  edge,  its  teeth 
piercing  the  azure  sky.  Nature  has  been  some- 
what harsh  to  Lecco's  lake ;  but  its  firs  and 
brambles  are  attractive  by  their  strength  and 
boldness,  and  hide  as  many  gay  romances  as  do 
the  sentimental  acacias  and  nuptial  myrtles  of 
idyllic  Brianza.  Rugged  natural  buttresses  and 
dark  mysterious  chasms  re-echo  the  sounds  of 
mountain  storms.  Avoided  by  superstitious 
rustics,  they  shelter  mountaineering  "  Lords  and 
Ladies  "  and  chamois-hunters  up  to  the  line  of 
everlasting  snow  on  great  Monte  Grigna.  Upon 
the  eastern  side  of  the  lake  scarce  can  man  or  beast 
find  foothold  ;  great  precipices  hang  over  the 
water.  On  the  west  are  sun-kissed  shores  and 
shady  coves,  with  luxuriant  vegetation — Limonta, 
Vassena,  Onno,  and  Malgiate. 

Lecco  itself  is  an  unimportant  town,  but  is  one 


186     LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

of  the  great  gates  of  Lombardy.  A  solid  stone 
bridge,  strong  to  stand  for  centuries — the  Ponte 
Grande  a'  Visconti — spans  the  narrowing  waters  of 
the  lake.  Built  in  1335,  by  that  mighty  warrior, 
Azzone  Visconti,  it  was  one  of  the  wonders  of 
the  world,  with  its  bastions,  towers,  and  draw- 
bridges. The  Sforzas  destroyed  and  then  rebuilt 
this  link  with  the  cities  of  the  plain.  Restored 
when  all  but  a  relic  of  a  desultory  past,  in  1609 
by  Conte  de  Fuentes,^ — he  who  built  the  Spanish 
castle  by  Riva  at  Colico, — it  was  blown  up  by 
retreating  Russians  in  1798,  but,  since  repaired, 
is  still  rugged  in  its  stanchness. 

Anyone  who  would  know  the  story  of  Lecco, 
as  intimately  told  of  the  seventeenth  century  at 
least,  should  read  Alessandro  Manzone's  romance 
"  /  Promessi  Sposi  "  and  his  other  Lecco  tales.  He 
is  the  Lecco  Hare,  and  those  who  read  and  mark 
his  masterpiece  find  him  the  best  companion  in 
their  walks  abroad.  Born  March  7,  1785,  at 
Milan,  by  mere  chance,  he  belonged  to  a  noble 
family  and  an  old,  of  the  Val  Sassina,  beyond 
the  Lake  of  Lecco.  His  ancestral  home  was  the 
castle,  or  mansion,  of  Caleotto,  overlooking  the 
historic  road  to  Bellano  on  Lake  Como.  Pietro 
Manzone,  Alessandro's  father,  married  Donna 
Giulia,  elder  daughter  of  Signore  Cesare  Beccarii, 
a  member    of    that  famous   Lecco   family.     His 


PILGRIMAGE    (  IIURCII    OF    LASNIGO 

From  a  Photograph. '  (See  page  200) 


PONTE    GRANDE    (oR    VISCONTi),    LAKE    OF    LECCO 

From,  a  Photograph 


To  face  page  186 


-.^    I  c.,.:  ;•;..'• 


^  LECCO  187 

early  years  were  spent  on  his  father's  farm,  but, 
sad  to  say,  a  black  cloud  appeared  on  the  domestic 
horizon — his  parents  were  at  variance.  At  last 
Madonna  Giulia's  patience  was  exhausted,  and, 
in  1804,  she  left  her  home  and  children. 
With  a  friend  of  her  youth.  Carlo  Imbonati,  she 
went  to  Paris,  where  he  died  the  following  year. 
The  Madonna  brought  his  body  back  to  Italy, 
and  buried  it  at  Brusuglio,  near  Milan,  and  then 
she  returned  to  Paris.  It  has  been  asserted 
that  Signore  and  Madonna  Manzone  were  legally 
separated  in  1792.  Anyhow,  her  seven  children 
knew  little  of  a  mother's  care,  and  yet  their  love 
for  her  was  not  cold,  for  Alessandro  and  his  sister 
Enrichetta  followed  her  to  Paris. 

Beginning  as  a  poetaster  in  1801,  the  call  of  the 
^^  Incantevole  del  Cielo  di  Brianza'^ — the  heavenly 
enchantment  of  the  Brianza — was  too  strong  to 
be  resisted,  and  back  the  loving  son  of  Lombardy 
returned  to  the  country  of  his  fathers.  He  fixed 
his  temporary  home  at  the  hamlet  of  Costa,  near 
the  little  town  of  Galbiate,  high  above  the  lakes 
of  Annona  and  Garlate.  Hence  he  journeyed  to 
Milan,  to  and  fro,  and  in  1818  joined  the  staff  of 
the  newly  estabUshed  "  Concialiatore,''  having  for 
his  associates,  Lodovico  di  Bienne,  Samuele  Biava, 
GioviUo  Scalvini,  Tommaso  Grossi,  and  other 
kindred  spirits.    The  "  /  Promessi  Sposi ' '  was  given 


188    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

to  the  world  in  1821,  in  succession  to  many  other 
tales  and  verses.  There  in  Lecco  is  the  scene  of 
his  narrative  and  the  Leccoese  his  heroes  and 
heroines.  He  speaks  of  buildings  fair  and  foul, 
reveals  their  secrets,  and  re-incarnates  their  woes 
and  joys.  He  gives  distressing  details  of  family 
feuds  and  of  the  marches  of  foreign  armies.  He 
tells  again  the  tales  of  Sigisimondo  Boldoni  of 
Bellano — how  the  people  of  the  country  fled  to 
mountain  fastnesses,  and  how  the  Teuton  hordes 
swept  bare  the  fair  land  Uke  locusts — diseased 
and  verminous.  Many  victims,  beside  Boldoni, 
died  from  infection,  imported  from  the  North. 
He  whispers  gently  of  lovers  and  their  vows,  of 
parted  sweethearts,  and  of  the  avenging  dagger. 
Famines  he  names  as  becoming  rich  by  brigan- 
dage, and  records  the  insecurity  of  Ufe,  with  the 
inevitable  findings  of  justice.  Across  the  Ponte 
Grande  moved  the  life  and  fame  of  Lecco.  Floods 
of  wild  waters  and  of  wilder  soldiery  crashed 
against  arch  and  buttress,  and,  across  it  have 
fought,  point  to  point,  bravi  and  their  prey,  and 
maidens  have  been  deported  for  the  pastime  of 
"  Lords  of  the  Lakes  "  in  Lombardy.  Pageants, 
too,  of  fair  "  Ladies  "  have  passed  serenely  where 
men  fought,  for  Lecco  was  a  principal  portal  of 
the  great  cities  of  the  plain.  Alessandro  Manzone 
died  in  1873. 


LEGCO  189 

The  "  Archivio  Storico  Lombardo "  has  many 
thrilling  stories  of  Lecco  and  the  Leccoese ;  many 
of  them  in  connection  with  the  bravi  and  other 
brigands  of  the  border.  The  municipal  authorities 
time  out  of  mind  held  dehberations  and  passed 
sentences  upon  the  daring  deeds  of  highwaymen 
and  their  kind.  Six  very  deep-dyed  villains, — 
Claudio,  Salvadore,  Carlo,  and  Orazio  Zanetti, 
four  brothers,  with  their  cousins,  Lodovico  and 
Zambiano  Bolognini,  having  been  banished  from 
Venetian  territory — the  two  first  also  from  the 
Duchy  of  Milan — for  deeds  of  darkness  done, 
had  transferred  their  scene  of  operations  to  the 
neighbourhood  of  Lecco,  and  were  at  last  captured 
red-handed,  and  on  June  29,  1649  were  arraigned 
for  justice,  heavily  fined,  and  cautioned.  The 
public  prosecutor, — not  a  very  desirable  post  in 
those  wild  days, — Dr.  Ambrogio  Arrigone,  incurred 
the  resentment  of  the  nefarious  brotherhood,  and 
his  death  was  decreed.  One  evening,  when  no 
moon  illuminated  the  deep  underwood,  the  six 
defendants  in  the  recent  trial  crawled  stealthily 
towards  the  threatened  official's  dweUing,  on  the 
outskirts  of  the  town.  They  learned  that  the 
doctor  was  detained  in  Lecco  on  legal  business, 
so  back  they  struck  to  meet  their  victim  unaccom- 
panied, in  the  narrow  high-walled  street.  Quite 
unsuspectingly    the    poor    man    fell    among    the 


190    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

thieves,  who  stripped  him  of  his  clothing,  and 
then  brutally  clubbed  him  to  death  with  their 
guns.  The  reprobates  fled  and  hid  themselves 
in  secret  places  known  only  to  the  peasantry, 
who,  however,  dared  not  expose  them.  The 
Sindic  and  other  magistrates  of  Lecco  summoned 
them  to  surrender  on  pain  of  proscription  in 
every  commune,  and  warned  all  the  neighbouring 
States  not  to  harbour  them,  but  to  hand  them 
over  if  they  fled  across  the  border.  In  the  end 
two  of  the  brothers  and  one  cousin, — Carlo, 
Orazio,  and  Lodovico, — were  captured,  and,  with- 
out a  trial,  run  up  to  the  gallows,  which  stood  ever 
ready,  as  Alessandro  Manzone  has  gruesomely 
recorded  in  his  "  /  Promessi  Sposi,^^  for  male- 
factors. Only  one  of  the  six  actually  escaped — 
Salvadore? — his  immunity  being,  in  fact,  due  to 
his  name,  so  judged  the  populace,  who  had  more 
faith  than  we  have  in  the  protection  of  patron 
Saints.  Claudio  and  Zambiano  were  drowned  by 
the  upsetting  of  a  boat  on  the  lake.  Even  so 
the  end  of  brigandage  was  not  reached.  If  bravi 
are  no  more  a  class  apart,  the  brigand  pure  and 
simple  still  shows  his  masked  face  in  unwonted 
places  ;  and  the  smuggler-poacher  thrives  in  every 
hilly  district. 

Almost  every  cottage  by  the  lake,  or  on  the 
hill,  has  relics  of  the  good  old  days — loot  from 


LEGCO  191 

lordly  wayfarers  or  sober  citizens.  Ancestors  of 
peasants  and  of  townsmen  of  to-day  danced 
measures  on  the  greensward  or  hard  highroad 
with  courtly  "Ladies  of  the  Lakes."  Curio- 
hunters  have  here  a  rich  field  unexplored,  for 
Visconti  relics  are  not  at  a  premium  in  the  com- 
mune of  Lecco.  To  be  sure  some  of  these  tokens 
of  butchery  and  pillage  are  in  the  treasuries  of 
churches, — votive  offerings  by  sinful  souls  re- 
buked, seeking  accommodation  with  Heaven  — 
and  here  they  will  remain,  for  clergy  in  Italy  are 
on  their  guard  now  that  connoisseur  millionaires 
are  on  the  prowl ! 

Everybody  who  is  interested  in  Lecco,  town 
and  lake,  and  in  the  lakelet  of  Annona  fails  not 
to  toil  up  the  mountain  path  from  Civate,  through 
the  Val  deir  Oreo,  to  the  hermitage  chapel  of 
San  Pietro.  It  was  a  favourite  retreat  from  the 
frenzied  world  for  contemplative  Benedictines, 
and  it  has  a  romantic  history.  Whilst  following 
in  the  chase  one  day,  in  757,  through  sportive 
Brianza,  Adelicco, — son  of  Desiderio,  the  last 
King  of  the  Lombards, — was  struck  in  the  eye 
by  an  arrow  which  glanced  from  a  tree.  Know- 
ing that  blindness  was  to  be  his  fate,  he,  upon 
the  spot,  vowed  to  build  a  Mass-chapel  for  the 
service  of  the  holy  brotherhood,  where  daily 
prayer  should  be  offered  for  the  recovery  of  his 

13 


192    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

sight.  That  dilapidated  building  is  still  one  of 
the  most  unique  churches  of  Christendom. 
Twenty-seven  red  marble  steps, — the  age  of  the 
afflicted  prince, — lead  to  the  entrance.  The  de- 
votion of  "  Creeping  to  the  Cross "  has  never 
ceased  from  that  day  to  this,  and  pious  peasants, 
sightless  and  seeing,  make  the  pilgrimage  with 
confident  faith  and  ardour.  Within  the  little 
fane  ancient  frescoes,  alas !  much  faded,  still 
decorate  the  walls  and  vault.  Three  awesome 
creatures  dominate  the  shrine,  a  griffin,  a  chimoera, 
and  a  dragon  cut  in  quaint  stone  bas-reHef: 
the  latter,  ready  to  devour  a  little  child,  gave 
rise  to  a  superstition,  which  haunts  the  chasm 
over  which  the  chapel  hangs.  It  is  of  a  homed 
serpent,  which  devours  unguarded  and  truant 
children,  and  "  II  Dragone  di  San  Pietro  f  is 
still  named  to  overawe  the  disobedient ;  although 
the  valiant  Saint  withstanding  the  reptile  is  the 
conventional  St.  Michael !  The  arrangement  of 
this  primitive  Christian  temple  is  that  of  a  basilica. 
In  the  "  Scurolo  "  or ''  Confessional,"  used  to  be  pre- 
served links  of  St.  Peter's  Mamertine  chain  ;  these 
had  their  healing  properties,  for  bites  of  mad 
dogs,  touched  thereby,  were  instantly  healed. 

Throughout  all  the  "  Verdant  Land  "  of  Bri- 
anza,  and  from  beyond  the  Lake  of  Lecco,  year 
by  year,  thousands  of  pilgrims  wend  their  way  to 


LEOCO  193 

San  Pietro,  singing  ancient  litanies.  Perhaps  the 
first  of  these,  and  greatly  distinguished  for  her 
virtues,  was  the  Empress  Ermingarda,  consort  of 
Charlemagne  and  sister  of  Prince  Adelicco  ;  her 
effigy  is  to  be  seen  in  a  bas-relief  behind  the 
altar.  In  the  eleventh  century  another  famous 
personage  climbed  the  Sacred  Way, — Arnolfo 
de'  Capitani,  Archbishop  of  Milan.  Tired  of  a 
world  of  faction  and  a  hierarchy  of  greed  the  holy 
man  sought  the  green  solitude  of  Civate  for  fast 
and  prayer.  He  it  was  who  stilled  the  fierce 
strifes  of  Guelphs  and  Ghibellines  and  gave  peace 
to  embittered  partisans.  He  died  upon  his 
wooden  bedstead  before  the  altar  of  the  chapel. 
Two  other  saintly  men  among  many  more  found 
solace  in  the  little  cloister,  Liprando  da  Compito 
and  Leone  da  Parego  ;  the  former  a  confessor,  for 
the  Christian  faith  bereft  of  ears  and  nose  and 
hands — mutilations  of  the  heretical  Nicolaitans  ; 
the  latter,  the  warlike  Archbishop  of  Milan,  who 
strove  to  stem  the  usurpation  of  the  Torriani,  but 
in  vain,  for  he  died  a  fugitive. 

San  Carlo  Borromeo,  in  his  plenary  visitation 
of  Lombard  holy  houses,  climbed  up  to  San  Pietro 
in  1571,  to  see  for  himself  what  the  lonesome 
Benedictines  were  about.  Their  abstinences, 
their  poverty,  and  their  sincerity  he  gladly 
acknowledged ;     but,    when    they    sought    ritual 


194    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

indulgences,  he  quietly  remarked  to  the  Prior  : 
"  Better  leave  well  alone,  and  mind  your  busi- 
ness !"  Other  visitors,  too,  besides  ecclesiastics 
and  pilgrims,  have  been  wont  to  rendezvous  in 
the  wild  valley  of  the  Oreo — huntsmen  and 
viragoes  of  the  chase.  The  King  of  France, 
Henri  III., — yielding  to  the  attractions  of  the 
Brianza  and  its  lakes, — took  up  his  residence  at 
the  Castle  of  Civate,  on  the  shore  of  Annona,  and 
thence,  one  day,  he  espied  a  lovely  girl.  She  was 
wending  her  way  home  with  a  pitcher  of  water 
poised  upon  her  head,  and  the  King — his  identity 
quite  unknown  to  the  maiden — craved  a  cooHng 
draught.  Like  another  Rebecca  the  maiden's 
grace  and  coyness  quite  enslaved  the  amorous 
Sovereign,  and,  willy-nilly,  back  she  went  to  Paris 
in  the  royal  train — Agnese  da  Civate.  What 
became  of  her  at  the  French  Court  we  know  not 
exactly,  but,  when,  by  the  tragic  death  of  Marie 
de  Cleves,  in  1574,  the  King's  heart  was  broken, 
none  so  daintily  ministered  to  him  as  the  village 
maid  of  Annona. 

II. 

The  Brianza  is  the  picturesque,  undulating, 
and  fertile  country  which  rolls  away  from  the 
gates  of  Milan  right  to  the  apex  of  the  highland 
triangle,  which  separates  the  Lakes  of  Como  and 


LEGCO  196 

Lecco.  The  axis  of  the  configuration  is  at  Erba, 
like  the  pivot  of  a  fan, — whence  an  alternative 
name  is  derived — ''Piano  d'  Erba'' — the  "  Verdant 
Land."  It  is  watered  by  the  prattling  Lambro, 
flowing  refreshingly  through  the  Val  Assina,  which 
drains  that  exquisite  chain  of  lakelets — Annona, 
Pusiano,  Segrino,  Alserio,  and  Montorfano — and 
then  runs  on  to  join  the  Adda  below  Milan.  It  is 
an  ideal  Eden,  for  nowhere  in  all  fruitful  Lom- 
bardy  does  the  generous  sun  ripen  sweeter  grapes 
and  mulberries,  or  paint  magnolia,  oleander, 
and  pomegranate  blooms  with  more  fragrant  hues. 
The  scintillating  leaflets  of  the  olives  are  brilliant 
gold,  the  berries  of  the  verdant  laurels  shining 
coral,  and  the  dewdrops  within  expanding  roses, 
lilies,  and  carnations  are  opal-tinted  pearls.  The 
thin-as-air  meshes  of  great  spider  webs  are  silver- 
gilt  strands,  shot-silking  the  morning  dew-dress 
of  verdure,  and  the  almost  imperceptible  brush- 
ing of  variegated  butterfly  wings  cast  coloured 
shadows  upon  the  shimmering  noon  vapours. 
So  much  may  perhaps  be  said  of  many  another 
terrestrial  paradise,  but  the  Brianza  rejoices  in 
an  atmosphere  of  unrivalled  brilliancy,  perfumed 
with  more  than  the  fabled  scents  of  Barbary  ; 
and,  when  the  sun-god  has  paled  before  his 
lunar  mistress,  then  the  glint  of  flying  insects' 
wings  excites  the  diamond  fires  of  hidden  glow- 


196    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

worms.  These  are  special  charms  of  the  "  Verdant 
Land." 

Where  Nature  has  been  so  bountiful,  Art  has 
not  feared  to  tread,  and  out  of  luxuriant  coppices 
of  flowering  trees  and  shrubs, — some  exotic  in 
their  origin, — there  peep  forth  the  white  or  painted 
walls  of  elegant  and  commodious  villas,  each 
holding  a  Court  like  a  Queen  in  the  midst  of 
exquisite  gardens.  The  white  campanili  of 
village  churches  vie  in  loftiness  with  solemn 
cypresses,  and  the  melody  of  their  bells  mingles 
at  all  hours  of  the  day  with  the  musical  cadence  of 
zephyr-moved  foliage.  One  of  the  most  cele- 
brated and  perhaps  most  ancient  of  these  castelli 
is  the  Villa  di  Tassera,  overlooking  the  villages 
of  Erba,  Carcano,  and  Alserio.  There  Federigo 
Barbarossa  spent  many  a  happy  day  in  the  far- 
away year  of  1160.  In  1500  it  became  the 
property  of  the  Ospidale  Maggiore,  in  Milan, 
through  the  munificence  of  Duke  Lodovico  "  II 
Moro."  One  hundred  and  fifty  years  later,  the 
hospital  funds  being  low,  the  estate  was  sold  to 
the  rising  Milanese  family  of  Turbonato,  who 
held  it  for  two  hundred  years.  Many  times  has 
it  changed  hands  since  then,  and  has  sheltered 
distinguished  inmates.  Ismail  Pasha,  ex-Khedive 
of  Egypt,  died  there  in  1878. 

Not    very    far    from    Villa    di    Tassera, — now 


LECCO  197 

called  Villa  Adelheida,  after  the  wife  of  its  present 
owner^ — nine  miles  from  Como,  on  the  highroad 
to  Lecco,  is  Castello  di  Carimate.  Dating  from 
the  troubled  times  of  Bemabo  Visconti, — who, 
in  1380,  gave  it  to  his  bride.  Donna  Regina  della 
Scala  of  Verona, — it  became  the  dower-house  of 
the  consorts  of  the  valiant  Visconti.  In  1386 
Giovanni  Galeazzo,  of  that  ruling  family,  gave  it 
to  his  wife  Caterina  della  Torre — a  significant 
matrimonial  contract  between  the  two  great 
factions  of  Milan.  Filippo  Maria  Visconti,  in 
1415  made  the  property  over  to  his  wife  in  due 
order — the  imperious  and  frail  Elizabetta  Bor- 
romeo,  whose  intrigue  with  Domenico  Ajcardi, 
Master  of  the  Horse  to  her  consort,  led  to  her 
imprisonment  and  supposed  death  at  her  husband's 
hands.  By  a  strange  fatuity  of  circumstances 
Ajcardi  earned  Filippo  Maria's  eternal  gratitude, 
for,  by  his  revelations  of  the  conspiracy  of  Mala- 
testa,  Arcelle,  and  Beccario, — the  very  year  of  the 
unhappy  Elizabetta's  tragic  end, — he  saved  the 
Visconti  house  and  fame.  For  reward  he  re- 
ceived the  dower-house  of  Carimate,  and  was 
created  Viscount  of  Scaramuzza.  Three  Dukes, 
in  turn,  of  the  supplanting  Sforza  dynasty,  con- 
firmed the  gift  to  the  Ajcardi,  who  in  gratitude 
affixed  the  name  of  Visconti  to  their  own,  and 
at  the  same  time  added  the  arms  of  Sforza  to 


198    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

their  escutcheon.  A  very  splendid  ceremonial 
was  witnessed  in  the  castle  hall  in  November, 
1493,  for  the  Ambassador  of  Massimiliano,  King 
of  the  Romans,  married  by  procuration  in  his 
Sovereign's  name,  Signora  Bianca  Maria,  daughter 
of  the  Duke  of  Milan. 

The  day  following  the  nuptials  Duke  Galeazzo, 
Maria,  and  Duchess  Isabella,  with  the  Regent 
Lodovico  and  his  consort  Beatrice,  accompanied 
the  royal  bride  to  Como,  escorted  by  a  very 
gorgeous  cavalcade  of  "  Lords  and  Ladies  of  the 
Lakes."  After  entering  the  city  a  halt  was 
called  at  the  Cathedral,  where  a  solemn  Te  Deum 
was  sung,  and  then  the  royal  party  were  con- 
ducted to  the  Archbishop's  palace  for  a  splendid 
banquet  and  to  pass  the  night.  Next  day  the 
Queen  and  her  suite  embarked  upon  four  great 
barges,  gaily  adorned  and  lined  with  men-at- 
arms,  bearing  flaunting  banners.  The  vessels 
were  offered  for  their  worthy  duty  by  loyal  folk 
of  the  town  of  Torno  on  the  lake.  The  old  adage 
came  true,  "  winds  and  waves  wait  for  none," 
for  the  flotilla  had  much  ado  to  make  Bellagio, 
the  crew  and  passengers  all  suffering  grievously. 
There  Marchese  Stampa  entertained  his  distin- 
guished guests,  who  after  an  inauspicious  start 
next  day  were  compelled  to  run  back  for  shelter  to 
the  hospitable  harbour.    On  the  fourth  day  Queen 


6ALEAZZO    MARIA    SFORZA 
PIERO    POLLAIUOLO 

l/fffzi,  Florence 


To  face  page  198 


LECCO  199 

Bianca  Maria  bade  a  last  adieu  to  Italy :  for  at 
Colico  she  entered  her  consort's  litter  and  was 
borne  over  the  Alps  towards  Vienna. 

Upon  the  death  of  the  Duke,  in  1494,  Lodovico 
"  II  Moro  "  seized  the  castle  and  there  established 
his  sweetheart — Cecilia  Gallerina.  Later  on  the 
Ajcardi  -  Visconti  regained  possession,  restored 
the  buildings,  and  remained  its  lords  till  1795> 
when  Cavaliere  Lodovico  Visconti, — they  had 
dropped  the  "  Ajcardi  " — the  last  of  his  race, 
died.  Carimate  now  belongs  to  the  Conte  di 
Pirocco  of  Como.  To  go  back  to  the  Ajcardi, 
Marquis  Domenico's  son  Giorgio,  by  another 
criss-cross  arrangement, — common  enough  in  those 
times  of  feud  and  counter-feud, — married  Caterina, 
the  daughter  of  the  plotter  Giacomo  Beccario, 
and  FiUppo  Maria  Visconti  gave  him  the  estate  of 
Zelada,  on  the  Ticino,  not  very  far  from  Abbiate- 
grasso.  He  rebuilt  the  old  Visconti  castle  and 
strictly  preserved  the  forest,  where  he  and  his 
friends  were  accustomed  to  hunt  bear  and  deer, 
—-the  Marchioness  Caterina  and  her  ladies  being 
usually  of  the  party.  Zelada  passed  ultimately 
to  the  family  of  Sangiuliano,  whose  descendant, 
Count  Antonio,  still  resides  in  the  again  haK- 
ruined  castle. 

The  highroad  from  Erba  to  Bellagio, — a  grand 
stretch   of   twenty   miles, — ^crosses   the   Lambro, 


200     LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

and,   skirting  the  narrow  green  strip  of  merlin- 
haunted  Segrino,  makes  up  the  lovely  Val  Assina. 
Nowhere  are  views  more  varied  as  each  comer  of 
the   zigzag   road   reveals   the   scenery.     From   a 
broad  ledge,  looking  down,  near  Asso,  through 
the  umbrageous  foliage  of  chestnuts,  the  whole 
Lake  of  Lecco  is  in  view,  lying  two  thousand  feet 
below.     A  little  farther  on,   at  Magregho,  both 
arms  of  Lake  Ck)mo  are  revealed,  and  then,  near 
Lasnigo,  the  Tremezzina,  with  its  sparkling  bays 
and    shining    villas,    attracts    the    eye.      From 
Cevenna  we  gaze  down  over  Bellagio  and  take  in 
the  splendours  of  the  northern  portion  of  "Lario  " 
to    Domaso,    with    the    grand    range    of    Alpine 
sentinels  all  white  with  snow  arrayed  against  the 
blue,   hazy   sky.     At   Lasnigo  we  linger  to  con- 
template the  eloquent  solitude  of  its  pilgrimage 
church.     The  whole  busy  world  is  out  of  sight 
and  sound,  and  there  is  nothing  to  divert  our 
thoughts  or  steps.     A  typical  Via  Crucis  lies  before 
us,  and,  involuntarily,  perhaps,  we  pass  upwards 
between    two    rows    of    fourteen    shrines.     The 
story  of  Calvary  is  told  in  stonewrought  numbers 
in  a  thousand  places  else,  but  here  the  weather- 
battered  "  Stations  "  and  the  grass-grown  steps, 
— leading    up    to    the    lofty,    lonely   towers, — 
by   the   very   severity   and   harshness   of   it   all, 
become  illuminative  to  the  dullest  apprehension 


LECCO  201 

of  the  tragedy  of  Calvary.  Reverie  peoples  the 
scene  with  kneeling,  praying  devotees,  and  their 
folklore  hymns  and  the  Latin  chants  strike 
imaginatively  upon  the  ear.  In  the  ancient 
church  the  reek  of  incense  and  wax  has  cleared 
away  all  mouldy  smells,  and  the  fire  of  ecstatic 
monkish  exhortation  has  left  not  only  echoes, 
but  something  of  the  enthusiastic  flame  of  per- 
fervid  devotion.  You  may  sit  in  the  sweet 
meadow  grass,  or  upon  a  ruined,  chiselled  stone, 
and  sit  and  sit,  whilst  you  reaHze  that  the  world 
and  its  votaries  are  vanities  of  vanity — Lasigno 
is  truly  a  Gate  to  Heaven,  though  a  rough  one 
visually. 

Thus  are  you  minded,  but,  if  you  like  to  ascend 
Monte  Cippei, — seen  in  the  illustration  behind 
the  pilgrimage  church, — you  can  look  right 
down  the  Plan  di  Tivano  to  Nesso,  on  the  Lake  of 
Como  and  on  past  a  shoulder  of  Monte  San  Primo, 
to  the  wood  -  sheltered  lake-hamlet  of  Lezzeno 
with  its  mysterious  ''  Grotta  del  Bulgaro"  This  is 
the  land  of  witchcraft  and  cryptic  deeds, — 
tradition  has  it  that  in  the  fifteenth  century, 
this, — the  one  gloomy  spot  in  a  land  of  everlast- 
ing sunshine, — was  the  hot-bed  of  necromancy, 
and  the  nursery  of  valley  charlatans.  The  entire 
province  of  Como  was  affected  by  a  wild  desire, 
fomented  by  the  agents  of  the  Holy  Office,  to 


202    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

harry,  hunt,  and  exterminate  the  witchwives  and 
their  werewolf  associates.  It  was  believed  that 
their  incantations  brought  distress,  disease,  and 
death  upon  man  and  beast  alike.  The  visitations 
of  plague,  the  prevalence  of  family  feuds,  and  the 
blighting  of  marriage  offspring  and  of  cattle,  and 
every  human  ill  was  assigned  to  their  fell  agency. 
Proofs  were  ready  to  hand  with  which  to  flout 
every  wretched  and  suspected  individual.  Con- 
fessions of  nameless  crimes  were  extorted  under 
the  cruellest  of  tortures,  and  deviUsh  punishment 
far  outweighed  the  miserable  victims'  turpitude. 
Depositions  of  such  wretches  attested  by  clerical 
witnesses,  are  preserved  in  the  archives  of  every 
town  and  village  in  Lombardy.  A  frenzy  of 
blood-thirstiness  wrapped  the  whole  country  in 
a  monstrous  crusade  ;  the  cry  everywhere  was, 
"  We  shall  be  better  off  when  the  witches  are  all 
burnt !"  Between  1416  and  1516,  it  has  been 
computed  that  more  than  ten  thousand  poor 
creatures  were  done  to  death.  The  memory  of 
those  awful  scenes  has  not  yet  faded  in  the  valleys 
of  the  Brianza,  whilst  endless  superstitions  still 
terrify  the  harmless  inhabitants.  Almost  every- 
body wears  an  amulet  or  charm  to  ward  off  uncanny 
influences,  and  general  resort  is  had  to  herbs  and 
decoctions  as  specifics  against  witchery.  Witch- 
houses  and  well-marked  witch-rings  still  remain 


LEGCO  203 

in  and  about  dark  Lezzeno,  and  up  and  about  the 
Plan  di  Tivano — to  approach  which  no  man  or 
woman  ever  dares.  Still,  for  all  this  haunting 
mistrust,  no  merrier  people  are  there  than  the 
shepherds  of  the  Pian  di  Tivano  and  the  silk- 
working  girls  of  the  Val  Assina.  Surely  here,  if 
anywhere,  simple  human  happiness  has  reached  its 
zenith  :  Leonardo  da  Vinci  might  at  any  time  have 
found  endless  exuberant  subjects  for  his  roUick- 
ing  peasants  ;  and  Fra  Angelico  graceful  maiden 
models  for  his  dancer  in  Paradise.  Certainly 
there  are  old  crones  minding  goats  or  gossiping 
on  doorsteps,  shrivelled  and  ominous.  With  dis- 
taff and  spindle  they  are  incarnations  of  Buon- 
arrotti's  "  weird  wicked  Sisters  three." 

There  are  yet  other  stories  to  tell  about  "  Lords 
and  Ladies  of  the  Brianza,"  and,  first  of  all,  the 
pleasant  voice  of  Giuseppe  Parini  calls  us  to  his 
natal  village  of  Bosisio,  smiling  serenely  upon 
the  eastern  shore  of  sweet  Lake  Pusiano — which, 
by  the  way,  he  called  "  II  vago  Eupili  mio,''  Who 
would  have  thought,  however,  that  the  exceedingly 
dull,  loutish  lad, — as  Giuseppe  one  while  was, — 
would  grow  into  the  most  briUiant  mimic  and 
most  caustic  critic  of  the  gay  world  of  Milan  ? 

His  "  Oiorno "  is  a  marvellously  lifelike 
travesty  of  the  men  and  manners  of  his  day. 
He  imagines  himself  introducing  a  young  noble 


204    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

of  Lombardy  to  all  the  gallantries  and  foibles  of 
the  Milanese.  Two  modes,  divergent  and  ir- 
reconcilable, divided  or  united  the  votaries  of 
fashion- — the  most  scrupulous  and  ridiculous  con- 
ventions of  town  life,  and  the  burlesque  of  simple 
shepherd  occupations  in  the  country.  Parini's 
"  Lords  and  Ladies "  are  excruciatingly  funny 
folks  :  his  dialogue  is  full  of  subtle  irony.  No 
handsomer  man  than  he  nor  of  more  distinguished 
carriage  paced  street  or  lane,  but  smart  society 
was  afraid  of  him,  or  rather  of  his  skits,  whilst 
everyone  roared  at  caricatures  of  other  men's  and 
women's  conceits  !  Fortune  came  to  Parini  not 
through  the  brilliancy  of  his  lampoons  and  dia- 
tribes, but  seriously,  through  the  princely  Borro- 
meo  and  Serbelloni  families  in  the  drudgery  of 
tutoring  their  sons.  He  was  fond  of  referring  to 
the  days  of  struggle  when  he  was  wont  to  cry 
out  in  anguish  both  of  mind  and  body  : 

"  Ch'  io  possa  morire 
lo  ora  trovo  m'  avere  al  uno  comando 
Un  par  di  soldi,  non  che  due  lire 
Per  domano  !"* 

Hence,     perhaps,     his     sobriquet    " /Z    Povere 
Parini  r    When  he  died  in  1799  all  Lombardy 

*  "  May  I  drop  if  I  know 
Where  to  look  for  a  sou, 
Much  more  for  two  lire 
Which  to-morrow  are  due." 


LECCO  205 

was  much  the  poorer  for  a  personal  loss  and  for 
the  loss  of  a  real  reformer  of  cant  and  humbug. 

On  the  highroad  and  off,  between  Monza  and 
Lecco  are  very  many  villas,  with  stories  of  '*  Lords 
and  Ladies  "  galore.  Twelve  miles  from  Lecco  is 
Castello  di  Merate,  of  very  ancient  origin,  the 
appurtenance  of  the  monastery  of  San  Pietro  di 
Civate.  Away  in  the  tenth  century  Archbishops 
of  Milan, — from  Auberto  da  Intinicardi, — enter- 
tained Emperors — from  Ck)rrado  to  Barbarossa. 
The  Religious  lost  it  in  the  fourteenth  century, 
and  then  the  all-pervading  Visconti  set  to  work 
to  build  the  battlements  with  men-at-arms  and  to 
fill  the  dungeons  with  prisoners,  bold  and  fair. 
Quite  near  at  hand  is  the  Villa  Belgiosioso,  built, 
too,  upon  antiquated  ruins, — the  property  of 
Marquis  Francesco  Ferrante  Villani-Novalta. 
Perhaps  this  was  the  Villa  di  Merate  where  Paul 
Musset  first  beheld  Princess  Cristina  Trivulzio- 
Belgiosioso,  and,  struck  with  her  saucy  contour, 
her  pallid  skin,  her  "  Mona  Lisa  smile,"  and  the 
subtlety  of  an  indefinable  charm,  drew  her  in  cari- 
cature, with  a  prominent  nose  and  chin  a  la  Dr. 
Syntax,  and  an  eye  looking  round  the  comer  ! 
Be  it  said,  however,  for  the  fair  charmer's  fame, 
she  inspired  fear  as  well  as  admiration  in  her 
visitor,  and  whilst  he  mocked  her  behind  her 
back  his  conduct  was  perfectly  restrained  in  her 


206    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

presence !  Men  in  face  of  clever  women  are 
arrant  cowards  ! 

The  name  Belgiosioso  meets  one  again  at  the 
Castello  di  San  Colombano,  near  Curate  on  the 
Lambro.  It  is  a  time-worn  relic  of  the  tenth 
century,  and,  later,  it  became  the  cradle  of  the 
celebrated  Landriani  family — peers  of  the  Visconti 
and  Torriani.  In  1164  Federigo  Barbarossa  re- 
garded it  as  one  of  the  keys  to  Lombardy,  and 
fortified  it  accordingly  ;  but,  when  his  time  was 
passed,  the  Milanese  pillaged  it,  and  the  Visconti 
and  Lodigiani  struggled  with  the  earlier  owners 
for  possession.  A  wily  priest  stepped  in  whilst 
the  rivals  were  squabbling,  and  Holy  Church  as 
usual  gained  the  guerdon.  Petrarca,  the  friend 
of  Archbishop  Giovanni  Visconti,  spent  much  time 
at  the  Castello,  and  spoke  of  it  as — 

"  Largamenti  nolo  e  fortissimo  di  amore.'' 

In  1372  a  very  beautiful  castellana  came  to  San 
Colombano — Bianca  di  Savoia,  the  consort  of 
Galeazzo  II.  Visconti :  she  obtained  the  fief,  and 
set  to  work  to  build  the  tower — still  called  "La 
Cucina  di  Bianca  di  Savoia,''  Once  more  the 
Church  obtained  the  mastery,  and  for  fifty  years 
the  monks  of  the  Certosa  of  Pavia  farmed  its 
revenues,  until  Francesco  Sforza  took  a  fancy  to 
it,  and,  in  the  name  of  the  city  of  Milan,  seized 


HUNTING    IN    THE    BRIANZA 

From  an  Illustrated  MS.  by  Gaston  de  Foix,  1391.      BiUiotheque  National,  Paris 


To  face  page  206 


LECCO  207 

it  and  kept  it  for  himself.  The  property  now 
belongs  to  Prince  Emilio  Barbiano  di  Belgiosioso 
d'  Este — whose  very  name  speaks  volumes  of 
romance  !  In  1864  the  whole  property  passed  to 
the  Trivulzio  family  by  the  marriage  of  Princess 
GiuHa  Barbiano. 

At  Olgiate,  near  the  delicious  little  lake, — hid 
by  deep  bending  foliage  but  glittering  through  the 
greenery, — is  the  Villa  Sala-Trotti — ten  miles  from 
Lecco.  Originally  the  nursery  of  the  Vimercati 
family,  the  Sale  of  Treviglio  acquired  it,  and  laid 
out  the  exquisite  gardens  : — "  Essi  diedero  mano 
ad  ahhellore  con  grande  spesa  il  giardino,  ad  eressero 
r oratorio  ai  88,  Amhrogio  e  Galdino.'"  *  This  dedi- 
cation, so  to  speak,  is  characteristic  of  what  one 
sees  almost  everywhere  in  Brianza  villa-land. 
The  adjuncture  of  flowers  and  prayers  is  abso- 
lutely poetic,  and  the  ascription  of  saintliness  to 
members  of  the  family  points  the  quaintest  of 
morals.  Wales  may  present  a  wholly  unearned 
increment  of  family  hagiography,  but  Lombardy 
equals  the  Principality  in  hidden  stores  of  saintly 
people  !  Very  generally  the  addition  of  the  Saint 
of  the  family  is  made  plausible  by  linking  in  such 

*  "  Took  in  hand  to  embellish  with  great  taste  the  garden 
and  to  erect  the  Oratory  of  Saints  Ambrogio  and  Galdino." 
(Galdino  was  a  scion  of  the  house  of  Sala,  who  had  gained 
canonization  for  the  edification  of  his  family  and  the  illus- 
tration of  their  pedigree.) 

u 


208    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

popular  patrons  as  Sant'  Ambrogio  or  San  Carlo 
Borromeo.  Would  that  the  family  record  never 
knew  anything  but  the  high-water  mark  of  the 
most  respectable  member  thereof  !  A  family 
which  had  not  furbished  up  a  Saint  thereof  was  not 
considered  worthy  of  Society. 

The  dedicatory  sentence  above  recorded  was 
put  up  quite  lately,  in  1887,  when  Signore  Gero- 
nimo  Sala  was  joined  matrimonially  to  Signora 
Minia  Trotti.  Royalty  has  not  thought  scorn  of 
the  charming  viUa  and  its  attractive  owners.  Grood 
Queen  Margherita, — Bang  Umberto's  gracious 
widow," — delights  to  stay  there ;  and  with  her, 
too,  are  usually  Princes  and  Princesses  of  the 
Royal  Savoy  House.  These  are,  of  course,  all  of 
them  "  Lords  and  Ladies  of  the  Italian  Lakes  !  " 

At  Cernusco, — almost  one  township  with 
Merate, — is  another  historical  villa — that  of  the 
Visconti  di  Salicito,  but  built  pretty  much  in  its 
present  proportions  by  the  Alari  family  of  Lecco, 
in  the  sixteenth  century.  They  were  wealthy 
landowners  and  eminent  vine-growers  and  wine- 
merchants, — indeed  their  name  is  still  preserved 
on  labels  of  a  fuU  rich  red  wine,  "  Alaro,"  beloved 
of  connoisseurs.  Much  esteemed  by  Duke  Lodo- 
vico  ''  II  Moro,'*  it  became  a  fashionable  beverage, 
until  he  and  his  courtiers  began  to  feel  the  effect 
of  too  liberal  libations  in  the  form  of  gout  and 


LEGCO  209 

eczema  !  Happily  there  was  an  antidote, — by 
some  esteemed  more  tasty  still,  if  less  potent, — 
quite  as  accessible — the  thin  dry  vintage  of  Tivano, 
which  accommodating  chief  medicos  prescribed 
for  willing  victims  !  The  wine  of  Lezzeno  "  the 
Haunted  "  was  somewhat  less  medicinal  in  quality, 
and  therefore,  hon-vivants,  like  the  brothers 
Giovio  of  Como,  adopted  it  as  their  usual  beverage. 
It  possessed  a  delicate  bush  and  an  exhilarating 
colour,  and  appealed  to  jaded  palates.  By  many 
"  Lezzeno "  was  mixed  with  "  Griante "  and 
"  Varenna  "  on  the  principle  that  ham  and  eggs 
are  more  to  be  commended  than  ham  alone  ! 
Those  to-day  who  know  their  Italy  know  also 
what  the  "  Lord  and  Ladies  of  the  Lakes  "  knew 
well,  and  drank  with  gusto  ;  but  one  must  take 
heed  in  moments  of  seraphic  assimilation,  for 
Lombardian  wines  are  stronger  far  than  human 
heads,  though  of  the  strongest ! 

Well,  to  return  whence  we  have  much  digressed. 
The  Alari  were  Counts  of  Tribiano, — famous,  too, 
for  generous  wines, — and  not  without  Imperial 
patronage,  for  that  brought  still  more  grist  to  the 
family  mill.  Count  Giacinto,  in  July,  1598,  was 
a  splendid  figure  as  he  rode  a  magnificent  white 
charger,  clothed  like  his  master  in  cloth  of  gold, 
at  the  head  of  the  noble  cavalcade  which  con- 
ducted the  Archduchess  Margherita  of  Austria  to 


210    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

Milan  to  wed  Duke  Pilippo  III.,  the  Spanish 
Viceroy  of  Lombardy.  Something  like  a  century 
later  another  Count  Giacinto  Alari-Tribiano  built 
anew  the  villa,  and  added  thereto  glorious  gardens 
and  orchards.  He  and  his  family  were  sportsmen 
and  sportswomen  all.  They  revived  the  glorious 
hunting-fishing  parties  of  Duchess  Beatrice  d' 
Este-Sforza.  The  eyes  of  another  illustrious 
"  Lady  "  were  fixed  upon  the  amenities  of  Villa 
Cernusco  in  the  eighteenth  century. 

In  August,  1771,  there  came  an  Imperial  courier 
with  a  missive  from  Count  Karl  von  Firmian,  the 
Emperor's  Commissary,  addressed  to  the  Count  of 
Tribiano,  in  which  it  was  stated  that  the  Empress 
Maria  Teresa  wished  to  have  the  villa.  The  Im- 
perial command  was  on  behalf  of  her  son  the  Arch- 
duke Ferdinand  and  his  bride.  Princess  Maria 
Beatrice  d'  Este.  The  Count  met  it  in  the  best 
way  he  could,  for  he  knew  the  transaction  meant 
the  absolute  abstraction  of  many,  many  lire  from 
his  banking  account ! 

Chivalrously,  even  loyally,  enough  he  responded 
to  his  Sovereign's  request,  and  placed  himself,  his 
household,  and  the  whole  estate  unreservedly  at 
the  Empress's  disposition.  Alterations  and  ad- 
ditions were  imperative,  and  all  these  "  the  Perfect 
Courtier  "  undertook,  and  then,  with  the  advent 
of  the  Imperial  couple,  the  Count  and  his  family 


LEGCO  211 

were  absolute  strangers  to  their  ancestral  home 
for  five  years  of  impoverishment.  Happily  the 
unwelcome  visitors  were  called  away  to  Monza, 
where  they  made  their  home  in  the  new  palace, 
built  expressly  for  them  by  Giustiniano  Pier- 
marini.  Count  Giacinto's  son's  wife,  Countess 
Anastasia, — widowed  with  no  issue, — to  whom  the 
estate  was  willed  absolutely,  married  a  Visconti 
of  Saliceto,  and  hence  the  name. 


IIL 

II  Castello  Sforzesco  di  Milano — the  Sforza  Castle 
of  Milan — is  one  of  those  world-famous  palace- 
fortresses  wherein  are  enshrined  the  forges  of 
rulers'  fortunes  and  the  looms  of  peoples'  liberties. 
The  original  building,. — a  rectangular  edifice,  with 
four  great  flanking  towers  and  a  huge  curtain- 
wall, — was  built  in  the  middle  of  the  fourteenth 
century  by  Galeazzo  Visconti  II.,  who  called  it 
Castello  di  San  Giovio,  from  the  adjoining  gate  of 
the  rising  city. 

Within  this  lordly  building  Visconti's  daughter, 
Yolanda,  was  married,  in  1368,  to  Lionel,  Duke 
of  Clarence,  son  of  Edward  III.  of  England.  The 
family  was  eager  to  attain  equality  with  European 
reigning  Houses,  and,  knowing  the  financial 
straits  of  the  English  crown,  Galeazzo  made  over- 


212    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

tures  to  the  King — offering  an  opulent  dowry  with 
his  fair  young  daughter.  Edward  appointed 
Humphrey  Bohun,  Earl  of  Hereford,  as  his  envoy 
to  Milan,  to  judge  of  the  noble  maiden's  charms 
and  to  handle  her  marriage  portion.  So  very 
pleasant  were  the  Visconti  to  their  distinguished 
guest  that  he  did  not  hasten  to  fulfil  his  mission, 
and  two  years  were  spent  in  dilly-dallying  nego- 
tiations. At  last  a  settlement  was  reached,  and 
Donna  Yolanda  welcomed  her  royal  bridegroom 
at  the  Castle  of  Milan  on  June  1.  The  English 
Duke's  progress  from  the  French  coast  had  been 
magnificent.  At  the  Louvre  his  stirrup  was  held 
by  the  Dukes  of  Berri  and  Burgundy,  and  the 
King  himself  assisted  him  to  dismount ;  at  Cham- 
bery  the  Count  of  Savoy,  as  Yolanda' s  uncle, — 
brother  of  her  mother,  Countess  Bianca, — enter- 
tained Duke  Lionel  sumptuously,  and  accom- 
panied him  across  the  Alps  to  Milan.  The  mar- 
riage was  celebrated  in  front  of  the  old  basiUca 
of  Sant'  Ambrogio  on  June  5,  and  the  festivities 
which  celebrated  the  happy  event  baffled  the 
descriptive  powers  of  the  chroniclers.  Duke 
Lionel  took  home  to  England  his  fair  bride, 
with  her  two  millions  of  gold  florins, — a  porten- 
tous sum  in  those  days, — ^together  with  the 
revenues  of  many  Lombard  towns.  In  his  saddle- 
bags were  the  title-deeds  of  the  ancestral  castle 


LECCO  213 

of  Alba,  on  the  River  Tanaro,  in  Piedmont, 
famed  for  its  rich  "  Barbaresco  "  and  "  Barolo  " 
wine.  The  royal  train  included  two  thousand 
persons,  and  many  noble  Milanese  accompanied 
the  bride.  There  is  a  story  that  Lionel,  going 
with  his  bride  first  to  view  his  castle  of  Alba, 
died  there  suddenly  of  poison  on  October  7,  four 
months  after  the  marriage  at  Milan.  The  wedding 
ceremonies  were  graced  by  the  presence  of  two 
poets, — since  then  of  sublime  renown, — Francesco 
Petrarca  and  Geoffrey  Chaucer — indeed,  the  latter 
was  one  of  the  official  advisers  of  the  Enghsh 
Crown,  and  knew  his  Milan  well. 

Whether  or  no  the  bride  was  the  heroine  of  the 
deUghtful  "  Story  of  Griseldis,"  Chaucer,  anyhow, 
was  struck  with  her  beauty,  her  docility,  and  her 
refinement,  and  he  thus  gave  utterance  to  his 
deUght : 

'*  Her  name  is  Bountie  set  in  a  woman  heade, 
Sadnese  and  Youthe,  and  Beautie  pridelese, 
She's  Pleasaunce  and  Governance  and  Drede/' 

Petrarca,  first  a  guest  of  Milan  in  1348,  with  his 
bibliophile  friend  Guglielmo  da  Pastrengo,  visited 
all  Lakeland  from  Garda  to  Maggiore ;  he  was  truly 
one  of  the  most  distinguished  "  Lords  "  thereof. 
Honoured  by  the  Visconti,  and  the  bosom  friend 
of  Galeazzo  II.,  the  poet  coquetted  with  his 
Lombard  friends,  brave  and  fair,  for  quite  a  dozen 


214    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

years.  Pusiano  had  equal  charms  with  Vaucluse, 
and  perhaps,  had  he  not  met  Laura,  he  might  have 
had  a  Berta  of  the  Brianza — a  "  Lady  of  the 
Lakes  "  ! 

Galeazzo  11.  was  not  only  a  judicious  match- 
maker, but  a  sapient  legislator  and  an  intelligent 
builder.  He  wrested  the  Government  from  his 
ambitious  uncle,  Bernabo,  who  had  established 
himself  as  overlord  of  Eastern  Lombardy,  and  had 
extended  the  Visconti  sway  to  Pisa,  Bologna, 
Perugia,  and  far-off  Spoleto.  Galeazzo,  the 
founder  of  the  grand  Cathedral  of  Milan  and  of 
the  unique  Certosa  of  Pavia,  greaty  enlarged  the 
castle,  and  dwelt  there  in  such  sumptuous  state 
that  the  Emperor  Wenceslaus, — who  sold  him  the 
Duchy, — once  exclaimed  : — "  The  Duke  of  Milan 
is  a  wealthy  Sovereign,  whilst  I  am  but  a  needy 
Count !"  When  Giovanni  Galeazzo  died,  in  1402, 
chaos  and  anarchy  reigned  in  Lombardy,  as  in  the 
troublous  times  of  Archbishop  Ottone  Visconti  and 
when  the  Visconti-Torriani  feuds  were  at  their 
height.  The  three  sons  of  Giovanni  Galeazzo 
succeeded  their  father :  Giovanni  Maria,  Filippo 
Maria,  and  Gabriele  Maria.  The  first  was  assas- 
sinated by  his  cousin  Bernabo' s  sons,  "  in  re- 
venge for  insults  to  their  father."  Duke  Filippo 
Maria, — to  divert  men's  minds  from  internecine 
vengeance, — led     campaigns     against     Florence, 


LECCO  215 

Venice,  and  Naples  with  varying  success.  When 
he  died,  in  1447,  the  direct  male  line  of  the 
Visconti  came  to  an  end — Gabriele  Maria  had  died 
childless  in  1408.  The  populace,  wearied  by 
exactions  and  tyranny,  denounced  the  dynasty, 
and,  directly  the  dead  Duke  had  been  interred, 
they  razed  the  walls  of  the  Castle  of  Milan  to  the 
ground.  A  public  vow  was  solemnly  recorded 
that  "  no  man  shall  ever  set  one  stone  upon 
another :  it  shall  be  a  desolation  and  a  warning." 
Milan  and  all  Lombardy  became  the  Republic 
of  Sant'  Ambrogio,  with  a  purely  democratic 
Government,  and  all  the  ''  Lords  and  Ladies  of 
the  Lakes  "  retired  to  their  country  seats,  or  hid 
themselves  in  their  city  mansions. 

A  master-hand  grasped  the  fortune  and  the 
fame  of  Lombardy, — much  as  he  could  the  reins 
of  two  high-mettled  steeds,  —  when,  in  1450, 
Francesco  di  Muzio  Attendolo — "  della  Sforza  " — 
caused  himself  to  be  proclaimed  Duke  of  Milan. 
Son  of  the  great  Condottiere  Muzio  Attendolo,  he 
first  saw  light  in  his  father's  birthplace,  Cotignola, 
in  the  Romagna.  He  married  in  1418  Polessena 
RufiFo,  but  she  died  in  1420,  leaving  him  no  child. 
To  assuage  his  grief  he  gave  his  whole  soul  to 
the  profession  of  arms,  emulating  the  heroic  deeds 
of  his  famous  father.  The  Serene  RepubHc  of 
Venice  appointed  him  Captain-General  of  North 


216    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

Italy — the  Venetian  dominions  reaching  almost 
to  the  walls  of  Milan.  To  strengthen  his  hold  upon 
Venetia  and  Lombardy,  very  adroitly  the  Con- 
dottiere  contracted  in  1441  a  second  marriage 
with  Bianca  Maria,  the  only  child  and  heiress  of 
Pilippo  Maria  Visconti.  The  citizens,  completely 
overawed  by  their  new  master,  besought  him  to 
rebuild  the  castle,  "  for,"  they  pleaded,  "  the 
defence  and  adornment  of  our  good  town."  With 
this  petition  they  proposed  to  assign  a  year's 
revenues  from  the  taxes  on  wine  and  meat  (aver- 
aged at  36,000  ducats  per  annum)  to  cover  the 
expenses  of  restoration.  The  Eocchetta  was  erected 
upon  the  ruins  of  the  original  Visconti  castle,  and 
an  entirely  new  palace  was  built  on  the  other  side 
of  the  courtyard, — the  Corte  Ducale,  a  very 
splendid  edifice, — a  fit  residence  for  the  powerful 
Sovereign,  and  suitable  for  the  functions  of  the 
new  Court.  With  the  assistance  of  masters  like 
Bramante  and  Leonardo  da  Vinci,  the  Duke's  ideas 
were  amply  realized. 

The  Castle  of  Milan  under  the  new  auspices 
speedily  became  the  rival  of  the  palaces  of  Florence, 
Ferrara,  and  Mantua.  Litterati  and  artists  fore- 
gathered thither,  and  beauty  and  fashion  flocked 
there  too.  Ruling  Princes  and  famous  Captains 
made  it  their  rendezvous,  and  notable  goldsmiths 
and  armourers  offered  their  services.     Among  men 


LEGCO  217 

of  mark  who  were  drawn  to  the  Court  of  Francesco 
and  Bianca  Sforza,  was  the  knight-errant  trouba- 
dour King  Rene  of  Anjou  —  the  most  highly 
cultured  and  the  most  fascinating  Prince  in  Europe. 
He  came  to  greet  the  Milanese  rulers,  but  as  well 
to  gain  Duke  Francesco's  alliance  in  his  attempt 
to  assert  his  ancestral  rights  to  the  kingdom  of 
Naples,  usurped  by  Alfonso  of  Aragon.  With 
reference  to  the  new  Castle  of  Milan,  Giacomo  da 
Cortona, — one  of  the  Duke's  School  of  Architects, 
— wrote  an  account  of  the  royal  visit.  "  The 
King,"  he  says,  "  was  here  this  morning,  and  went 
all  over  the  castle  on  foot  with  the  Duchess,  who 
was  perfectly  indifferent  about  her  rich  velvet 
gown  trailing  in  the  dust  and  dirt.  He  saw  the 
masons  and  wood-carvers  preparing  the  medallions 
with  the  ducal  arms  which  are  to  be  placed  over 
the  gateway,  and  he  climbed  up  to  the  very  top 
of  the  tower.  He  was  much  pleased  with  all  he 
saw,  and  when  he  heard  that  all  this  had  risen 
from  the  ground  in  three  years,  he  could  not 
contain  his  amazement,  and  would  hardly  believe 
such  a  thing  possible." 

Duke  Francesco  died  in  1466,  and  was  succeeded 
by  his  dissolute  son  Galeazzo  Maria,  who,  two 
years  later,  married  Princess  Bona  of  Savoy. 
Under  their  rule  the  castle  was  completed  and 
superbly  decorated.     The  late  Duke  and  Duchess 


218     LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

had  been  content  with  moderation  in  personal 
expenditure,  but  Galeazzo  Maria  and  Bona 
launched  forth  into  wild  extravagance  and  house- 
hold ostentation.  For  their  wedding  the  Duke 
borrowed  all  the  rich  tapestries  he  could  find  from 
the  houses  of  Milanese  nobles  and  citizens,  with 
which  to  hide  the  bare  walls  of  the  various  rooms. 
There  had  been  hitherto  no  permanent  Chairs  of 
State  for  the  Ruler  and  his  consort.  Now  two 
splendid  thrones  of  elaborately  carved  walnut, 
overlaid  with  gold,  and  covered  with  carpets  of 
richest  cloth  of  gold  and  fine  embroidery,  were 
placed  upon  a  dais  in  the  principal  hall  of  audience 
(these  State  seats  are  still  preserved  in  the 
Cathedral  Treasury).  The  Duke  inherited  the 
cultured  tastes  of  his  father  and  mother,  and  in  his 
Duchess  he  found  an  artistic  ally.  Remains  of  the 
rich  adornments  of  the  castle  are  still  to  be  seen  in 
the  different  apartments — now  filled  with  Art 
treasures.  The  ceilings  in  particular  are  notable, — 
in  one  room.  Duchess  Bona's  boudoir,  her  motto — 
"  A  hon  droit " — is  many  times  repeated,  under  her 
cognizance  (a  white  dove  encircled  by  flames  of 
fire), — all  upon  a  brilliant  crimson  ground.  The 
Sola  Verde  had  upon  its  walls  the  Sforza  emblems, 
— the  golden  bucket,  with  the  Duke's  initials, — 
and  portraits  of  the  Duke  and  Duchess.  It  was 
said  that  this  apartment  was  decorated  in  a  single 


LEGCO  219 

night,  in  readiness  for  the  nuptials  of  their  daughter 
Bianca  with  the  Duke  of  Savoy.  So  impatient  was 
the  Duke,  that  the  work  was  hurried  on  without 
sufficient  precautions  as  to  the  security  of  floor 
and  walls  being  taken.  This  haste  had  for  its 
result  a  tragedy.  Upon  the  morning  of  the 
marriage,  after  the  guests  had  assembled  to  greet 
the  bridal  pair,  the  floor  coUapsed,  precipitating 
the  lordly  company  into  the  basement  of  the 
palace  !  Although  many  Lords  and  Ladies  were 
grievously  injured,  only  one  succumbed  ;  but,  alas  ! 
it  was  the  young  bridegroom  himself  who  came 
to  such  an  untimely  end.  No  doubt  the  "  Evil 
Eye,"  or  some  fell  influence,  was  at  work  to  wreck 
the  prospects  of  the  fair  young  bride,  for  no  sooner 
had  she  put  off  her  mourning  for  Duke  Charles, 
than  she  was  affianced  to  Prince  Stefano, — the 
eldest  son  of  the  King  of  Hungary, — but  he  was 
accidentally  drowned  the  day  before  the  wedding  ! 
When  Duke  Galeazzo  Maria  was  scarcely  seven- 
teen years  of  age  he  loved  a  beautiful  Milanese 
girl  of  noble  family  —  Lucrezia  Landriani — and 
had  by  her,  in  1463,  a  daughter,  who  was  christened 
Caterina.  The  infant  was  taken  charge  of  at  once 
by  her  father's  mother.  Duchess  Bianca,  and 
brought  up  as  a  daughter  of  the  Ducal  House. 
She  was  a  remarkable  child  in  many  ways — ex- 
cessively precocious  in  acquiring  knowledge,  and 


220    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

fearless,  like  a  man.  A  letter  to  her  mother  is 
extant,  dated  1468,  inquiring  about  her  health, 
which  was  very  indifferent ;  indeed,  she  died  in 
the  year  following.  Duchess  Bianca  Maria  also 
died  during  the  same  year,  and  then  Duchess 
Bona  adopted  the  motherless  girl,  and  educated 
her  along  with  her  own  children.  When  she  was 
ten  years  old  Caterina  was  betrothed  to  Count 
Girolamo  Riario,  a  natural  son  of  Pope  Sixtus  IV. 
It  was  said  that,  casting  about  for  territorial 
dignities  with  which  to  endow  his  offspring.  His 
Holiness  pitched  upon  the  Lordship  of  Imola  as  a 
desirable  possession.  It  had  been  surrendered  to 
the  Duke  of  Milan  by  Taddeo  Manf redi  when  in 
financial  dfficulties.  Sixtus  gave  Duke  Galeazzo 
Maria  the  goodly  sum  of  fifty  thousand  gold  ducats 
for  the  fief  of  Imola  and  the  hand  of  his  illegitimate 
daughter  was  thrown  into  the  Riario  bargain. 
The  young  couple  were  married  on  the  bride's 
fifteenth  birthday,  and  took  up  their  residence  in 
Rome.  The  same  year  Count  Girolamo  acted  as 
proxy  for  his  putative  father,  the  Pope,  in  the 
Pazzi  Conspiracy,  within  the  Duomo  of  Florence, 
where  Giuliano  de'  Medici  was  assassinated,  and 
Lorenzo,  his  brother,  grievously  wounded.  The 
Count  returned  to  Rome,  and  gave  himseK  up  to 
unbridled  lust  and  profligacy,  and  died  by  the 
hand  of  a  Florentine  bravo  in  1490. 


CATERINA    SFORZA-RIARIO-MEDICI    (WHEN    EIGHTEEN    YEARS    OLd) 

MARCO   PALMEZZIANO 

Forli  Museum 


To  face  page  220 


LECCO  221 

Countess  Caterina,  left  a  widow,  spent  very 
little  time  in  bewailing  her  dissolute  spouse  ;  they 
had  lived  apart  ever  since  the  tragic  events  in 
Florence.  She  was  a  virago  indeed,  for  when 
people  pointed  at  her  and  called  her  a  heartless 
coward,  she  used  to  bridle  up  and  reply,  with 
undisguised  scorn  :  "  I  sprang  from  a  race  of  men 
who  have  never  known  fear,  and  who  have  never 
done  a  base  action  !"  Caterina  Sforza-Riario 
married  again,  and  this  union  was  pregnant  of 
great  consequences  for  Florence.  She  became 
the  wife  of  Giovanni  de'  Medici,  "/Z  Popolano," 
and  by  him  the  mother  of  Condottiere  Giovanni  de' 
Medici, — ''  Delle  BandeNera,'' — whose  son  became 
first  Grand  Duke  of  Florence,  Cosimo  I.,  "  Tyrant 
of  Tyrants."  Perhaps  the  hot  blood  of  the  Sforzas 
coursing  through  Caterina' s  veins  gave  pushful 
character  to  her  son  and  consummate  cruelty  to 
her  grandson  !  There  is  another  romantic  story 
anent  strong-minded  Caterina.  She  had  a  very 
comely  valet,  one  Giacomo  Feo  ;  he  was  but  nine- 
teen years  of  age  and  she  eighteen  at  the  time. 
Her  loveless  wedlock  required  consolation  else- 
where, and  the  physical  attributes  of  the  young 
fellow  appealed  irresistibly  to  the  love-lorn  girl. 
It  was  said,  indeed,  that  she  secretly  married  her 
lover,  and  so  legitimatized  her  child  by  him. 
What  happened  to  Feo  no  one  has  stated — it  is 


222    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

better  so  perhaps  :  he  served  his  purpose,  and  that 
was  sufficient  for  the  virago.  Virago  she  was  in 
every  Itahan  sense  of  the  word  ;  a  woman  of  vast 
mental  ability  and  high  culture, — five  hundred 
letters  of  hers  are  extant, — Caterina  Riario-Medici 
is  the  Renaissance  female  type  of  martial  ardour 
and  heroism.  As  Princess  of  Forli  and  mother  of 
"/Z  Giovannino,'' — born  in  1498  at  Forli, — she 
gave  many  and  ample  proofs  of  the  indomitable 
pluck  which  were  in  her.  As  a  "  Lady  of  the  Italian 
Lakes,"  or  as  the  Commandant  of  a  garrison, 
Caterina  Sforza  stands  out  as  one  of  the  heroines 
of  the  fifteenth  century. 

The  Castle  of  Milan  and  its  Art  treasures 
attracted  from  afar  visitors  of  all  ranks  and 
interests.  Among  them  came  Lorenzo  '*/Z  Mag- 
nifico  "  from  Florence,  and  King  Christian  from 
Denmark — both  upon  diplomatic  errands  bent, 
and  incidentally  on  the  lookout  for  matrimonial 
contracts.  There  were  several  Sforza  "  Ladies  of 
the  Lakes  "  and  many  other  well-dowered  damsels 
in  Milan — very  eligible  partners  for  royal  and 
princely  knight-errants.  Such  welcome  guests 
were  always  notably  entertained,  and  Milanese 
hosts  vied  with  their  likes  in  Florence,  Venice,  and 
Genoa  in  the  magnificence  of  their  banquets  and 
the  lavishness  of  their  field-sports.  Time  out  of 
mind  the  Brianza  and  its  network  of  lakes  and 


LECCO  223 

rivers  were  the  rendezvous  for  sporting  expe- 
ditions. Roebuck,  boar,  woodcock  and  heron, 
pike  and  trout,  were  preserved  most  carefully,  and 
ladies  and  their  cavaliers  made  records  of  their 
game-bags,  and  held  picnics  in  the  woods,  and 
water-parties  on  the  lakes. 

The  Duke  and  Duchess  of  Milan  were  the  first 
notable  visitors  who  fared  to  Florence  to  con- 
gratulate Lorenzo  de'  Medici  upon  his  succession 
to  the  Headship  of  the  Republic.  The  retinue 
which  accompanied  them  was  so  gorgeous  that  it 
filled  the  people  of  the  Tuscan  capital  with  amaze- 
ment. They  were,  however,  dumbfounded  by  the 
magnificence  of  the  reception  accorded  by  the 
Medici.  Macchiavelli  instances  the  visit  as  mainly 
responsible  for  the  vast  increase  in  the  luxurious 
habits  of  the  citizens. 

The  Feast  of  the  Nativity  in  1476  saw  the  Castle 
of  Milan  prepared  for  a  series  of  grand  entertain- 
ments. Christmas  Day  passed  serenely,  but  on 
the  morrow  the  Duke, — although  he  had  a  pre- 
monition of  misfortune,  and  turned  back  twice 
upon  trifling  pretexts, — assisted  at  Mass  at  the 
Church  of  San  Stefano  as  usual,  accompanied  by 
a  notable  suite.  Leaving  the  sacred  edifice,  he 
received  the  good  wishes  of  courtiers  and  citizens, 
and   he   was   radiant   with   happiness.     He   had, 

however,  hardly  stepped  from  beneath  the  great 

15 


224    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

portal  than  the  truth  of  that  well-worn  motto,  ''Sic 
transit    gloria    mundi,''  was   once   more    terribly 
affirmed.     Stabbed  from  behind  by  five  of  his  most 
intimate  associates,  he  fell  and  expired  immedi- 
ately !     The  awful  news  was  borne  swiftly  to  the 
Duchess,   who,   although  stunned,   had  sufficient 
presence  of  mind  to  order  the  castle  drawbridge 
to  be  raised  and  the  garrison  to  man  the  walls.    She 
folded  her  little  son   Giangaleazzo,  barely  seven 
years  old,  to  her  bosom,  and  bore  him  for  safety 
to  the  highest  tower  of  the  Torre  di  Bona  di  Savoia. 
The  city  received  the  intelligence  of  the  Duke's 
assassination  calmly  ;  it  was  a  good  riddance,  men 
said,  for  his  pride  and  extravagance  had  become 
unbearable.     No  attempt  was  made  to  overawe 
the  castle  inmates  ;  indeed,  at  a  convention  of  the 
nobles  and  citizens,  held  at  noon  on  the  day  of  the 
murder,  Duke  Giangaleazzo  was  proclaimed,  and 
Duchess  Bona  was  named  sole  Regent  of  the  State. 
Three  years  sufficed  to  bring  the  new  condition  of 
affairs  to  a  crisis.     Both  during  her  consort's  Hfe 
and  after  his  death  Duchess  Bona's  intimacy  with 
Francesco  ("  Cicco  ")  Simonetta,  the  Duke's  princi- 
pal minister,   was  a  subject  of  suspicion  and  a 
source  of  scandal.     His  position  as  sole  adviser  to 
a   woman    still   lovely,    a   woman   cultured   and 
ambitious,  was  one  of  extreme  delicacy  and  danger. 
He  was  one  of  Duke  Francesco's  most  trusty 


BONA    DI    SAVOIA,    DUCHESS    OF    MILAN 

ANTONIO   DE    PREDIS   (OK  BERNARDO   MARTINI  ?) 

National  Gallery,  London 

To  face  page  22-t 


LECOO  225 

ministers,  and  upon  the  Duke's  death  he  became 
paramount  adviser  of  Galeazzo  Maria,  and  the 
virtual  controller  of  the  Duchy.  Among  his  many 
benefactions  was  a  notable  one  to  the  chapter  of 
the  Cathedral  of  Como,  in  memory  of  his  governor- 
ship of  the  city.  In  recognition  of  his  generosity 
the  authorities  placed  his  statue  upon  the  fa9ade  of 
the  sacred  building  in  the  second  row  from  the 
Broletto,  and  there  it  is  to-day — evidently  a 
portrait-bust.  Once  it  is  said  a  rival  spoke  dero- 
gatingly  of  his  minister  to  Francesco,  who  at  once 
took  him  to  task.  "  So  necessary  is  Cicco  to  the 
State  and  to  me,"  he  said,  "  that  if  he  died  I 
should  be  compelled  to  have  him  in  wax  !"  His 
career  ended  tragically,  for  on  the  evening  of 
October  17,  1479,  whilst  engaged  in  a  tete-a-tete 
in  the  Duchess's  boudoir,  the  door  was  forced  by 
bravi,  in  the  pay  of  Lodovico  Sforza,  Duke  of  Bari, 
and  the  paramour,  torn  from  his  innamorata' s 
arms,  was  carried  off  to  the  Castle  of  Pa  via.  Short 
shrift  had  Cicco  Simonetta,  for  without  even  the 
pretence  of  a  trial  he  was  beheaded  in  the  fore- 
court on  the  morrow  of  his  arrival. 

The  morning  after  Simonetta's  arrest  Duchess 
Bona  was  missing  ;  perhaps  she  feared  a  like  fate 
might  be  in  store  for  her.  She  fled  to  Abbiate- 
grosso  in  company  with  a  young  fellow,  for  whom 
she  entertained  an  infatuation — Antonio  di  Tusso, 


226    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

a  carver  at  her  table.  He  was  a  youth  of  singular 
beauty  of  person,  and  possessed  of  a  soft  appealing 
voice,  but  of  low  origin.  Her  little  son,  the  young 
Duke,  just  ten  years  old,  she  forsook,  and,  under 
Tusso's  influence,  renounced  her  motherhood,  and 
then  she  journeyed  on  to  Paris.  Lodovico  Sforza 
seized  the  regency  in  the  name  of  his  young 
nephew,  and  became  virtually  ruler  of  Milan  and 
Lombardy.  In  the  early  prime  of  life,  just  thirty 
years  of  age,  he  had,  strange  to  say,  evaded  suc- 
cessfully the  darts  of  Cupid  ;  but  fate  was  against 
him,  for  the  year  that  witnessed  his  accession  to 
supreme  power,  saw  also  his  betrothal  to  a  child 
of  six — Isabella  d'  Este,  the  younger  daughter  of 
Ercole,  Duke  of  Ferrara.  This  was  certainly  a 
very  unpractical  road  to  matrimony,  and  one  very 
difficult  to  diagnose  in  the  case  of  so  astute  a  man 
as  "II  Moro."  It  was,  however,  Ercole  d'  Este's 
tour  de  force  in  the  "  Lists  "  of  Hymen,  for  such  an 
eligible  son-in-law  as  Lodovico  could  not  be  allowed 
escape.  With  Laban-like  wisdom  of  the  serpent — 
or  the  dove — the  Duke  of  Ferrara  managed,  after 
a  few  months'  diplomacy,  to  substitute  Beatrice, 
his  eldest  daughter,  for  the  younger,  his  pro- 
jects for  a  Medici  son-in-law  having  failed. 
Lodovico  and  Beatrice  were  married  in  1490, 
and  Isabella  was  reserved  for  the  Marquis  of 
Mantua. 


LECCO  227 

The  young  Duke  Giangaleazzo,  too,  had  been 
enslaved  by  the  bands  of  Hymen,  and  had,  in 
January,    1489,    married    the    Spanish    Princess 
Isabella  d'Arragona,  to  whom  he  had  been  be- 
trothed  by   his   mother.    Duchess   Bona,    acting 
within  her  indisputable  rights  as  a  Princess  of  the 
House  of  Savoy.     Duchess  Isabella  found  upon 
her  arrival  at  Milan  that  the  domestic  arrange- 
ments within  the  Castle  were  not  a  little  compli- 
cated.    The  Duke  and  his  uncle, — who  still  held 
to  his   self-imposed  title   of   Regent, — had   each 
imposing  households   within   the   precincts, — the 
Duke  at  Corte  Ducale,  Lodovico  at  the  Rochetta. 
So   long   as   Lodovico  was    unmarried,  perhaps, 
this  condition  of  affairs  was  endurable,  but  when 
he  brought  home  to  Milan  his  Ferrara  bride,  and 
established  her  as  mistress  of  a  portion  of  the 
castle,  the   situation,  so  far  as  the  Duchess  was 
concerned,  was  excessively'embarrassing.     Isabella 
was  no  match  for  Beatrice,  and  she  was  faced  by  a 
double  degradation,  as  she  deemed  it.     She,  the 
daughter  of  an  ancient  Royal  House,  her  father 
the  Duke  of  Calabria,  and  heir  to  the  Kingdom  of 
Naples,   browbeaten  by  such  second-class  high- 
nesses as  Duke  Ercole  of  Ferrara's  daughters  !    All 
the  trouble,  however,  came  from  herself,  and  she 
made  herself  miserable.     She  cared  neither  for 
their  frolics  nor  for  their  culture,  and  as  for  their 


228    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

fashions,  they  were  indelicate  and  ridiculous.  Her 
misfit  self-environment  became  at  last  intoler- 
able, and  the  unamiable  Duchess  appealed  to  her 
father  for  redress.  "  If  you  will  not  help  me," 
she  wrote,  "  I  would  rather  die  by  my  own 
hand  than  bear  this  tyrannous  yoke,  and  suffer 
outrages  continual  under  the  eyes  of  my 
servants." 

The  appeal  entered  into  sympathetic  ears,  for 
King  Alfonso, — as  he  had  become  in  1494, — hated 
Lodovico  Sf orza  with  a  whole-hearted  detestation — 
"  the  arrogant  and  ill-bred,"  as  he  dubbed  him. 
He  could,  however,  do  nothing  but  urge  his 
daughter  to  assert  her  undoubted  priority  in  rank, 
and  to  keep,  so  far  as  she  could,  Lodovico  and 
Beatrice  at  a  distance.  Perhaps  what  irritated 
Isabella  as  much  as  anything  was, — as  she  judged 
it, — the  ill-breeding  of  the  Milanese  ladies  with 
whom  she  had  to  associate.  The  nobility  of  Milan 
certainly  was  democratic,  not  to  say  plebeian. 
First  enrolled  as  the  ''Societd  de'  Gagliardi'' — Union 
of  the  Fittest — each  rich  family  in  the  twelfth 
and  thirteenth  centuries  was  empowered  to  build 
its  Torre,  or  embattlemented  mansion,  within  the 
city  boundaries.  Such  families  were  the  Torriani, 
Landriani,  Visconti,  Gallerati,  Mozzoni,  Rho,  Dog- 
nani,  and  Scotti. 

A  very  favourite  hunting-box  of  *'  II  Moro  "  and 


LEGCO  229 

Beatrice  was  at  Cuzzago,  on  the  slopes  of  the 
Brianza  Hills,  some  ten  miles  from  Milan.     Many 
letters  of  the  Duchess  are  extant  descanting  upon 
its  attractions.     It  was  here  and  at  other  country- 
residences  that  Duchess  Isabella  began  to  unbend 
and  enter  into  the  fascinating  occupations  of  the 
two  Ferrara  Princesses.     Perhaps  the  best  descrip- 
tion of  their  sporting  expeditions  is  the  story  told  of 
the   happy  doings   by  Galeazzo   di   Sanseverino. 
Referring  to  the  presence  of  the  two  Duchesses,  he 
says,  writing  to  the  Marchioness  of  Mantua :  "  We 
had  a  grand  fishing  expedition  on  the  river,  and 
caught  an  immense  quantity  of  large  pike,  trout, 
lampreys,  crabs,  and  other  sorts  of  smaller  fish,  and 
we  proceeded  at  once  to  dine  ofE  them,  and  eat  until 
we  could  positively  gorge  no  more.     Then  directly 
we  had  dined,  to  assist  our  digestion,  we  played 
bowls  with  great  energy  ;  and  after  we  had  played 
for  some  time  we  went  over  the  villa,  which  is 
really  very  beautiful,  and,  among  other  things, 
contains  a  portal  of  carved  marble  as  fine  as  any  at 
the  new  works  at  the  Certosa.     Next  we  examined 
the  result  of  our  sport,  which  had  been  laid  out  in 
front  of  the  villa,   and  I  picked  out  the  finest 
lampreys  to  take  to  His  Highness  the  Duke.  When 
we  had  done  this  we  all  rode  off  to  another  hunting 
and    fishing    box,    and    caught    more    than    one 
thousand  large  trout,  and  after  choosing  the  best 


230    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

for  presents  and  for  our  own  most  sacred  throats, 
we  tossed  the  rest  back  into  the  water.  Then  we 
once  more  mounted  our  horses,  and  began  to  let  fly 
some  of  those  fine  falcons  of  mine,  which  you  saw 
at  Pavia,  all  along  the  river-side  and  they  killed 
a  number  of  birds.  By  this  time  it  was  nearly 
four  o'clock,  and  we  rode  on  to  hunt  stags  and 
fawns,  and  after  giving  chase  to  twenty  or  more, 
we  succeeded  in  killing  two  of  each  kind.  Then 
we  returned  home,  and  reached  Milan  after  dark. 
My  illustrious  Lord  took  the  keenest  delight  in 
hearing  all  about  what  we  had  done,  far  more,  I 
verily  believe,  than  if  he  had  been  there  in  person, 
and  I  believe  that  the  Duchess  will  in  the  end  reap 
a  substantial  benefit,  and  that  Lord  Lodovico  will 
give  her  Cuzzago,  which  is  a  place  of  rare  beauty 
and  considerable  value.  ...  I  have  cut  my  shoes 
to  pieces  and  torn  my  clothes,  and,  moreover, 
played  the  fool  into  the  bargain,  and  these 
are  among  the  rich  rewards  one  gains  in  the 
service  of  the  fair  sex.  However,  I  will  have 
patience,  since  it  is  all  for  the  sake  of  my 
beloved  Duchess,  whom  I  will  never  fail  in  life  or 
death.  .  .  ." 

Galeazzo  di  Sanseverino  again  wrote  on  Feb- 
ruary 11,  1491,  to  the  Marchioness  of  Mantua  : 
*  This  day  bein  g  a  festival,  I  started  at  break  of 
day  with  the  Duchess  (Beatrice)  and  her  ladies,  all 


LODOVICO    SFORZA,    "  IL    MORO  " 
G.    A.   BELTBAFFIO 

Trivulzio  Gallei-y,  Milan 


To  face  page  230 


LECCO  231 

on  horseback,  for  Cuzzago.  I  had  to  ride  in  a 
chariot  with  the  Duchess,  who  was  a  little  lame, 
and  Dioda.  We  joked  and  sang  twenty  and  more 
jolly  trios — Dioda  was  tenor,  the  Duchess  soprano, 
and  I  bass.  We  played  endless  tricks  with  one 
another.  I  do  not  really  know  which  of  us  was 
the  most  foolish."  Di  Sanseverino  later  on  asserts 
that  Lodovico  did  actually  bestow  the  villa  and 
estate  of  Cuzzago  upon  his  illustrious  spouse,  and 
that  she  partially  rebuilt  and  refurnished  the 
mansion,  which  had  been  a  favourite  residence  of 
the  Visconti,  and  still  contained  many  objects 
which  had  belonged  to  that  extinct  ruling 
family. 

The  very  year  dated  by  di  Sanseverino  was 
remarkable  for  the  marriage  of  Donna  Cecilia 
Gallerina  to  Count  Lodovico  Bergamino  of  Cre- 
mona. The  match  was  due  to  Duchess  Beatrice, 
who,  when  she  discovered  Lodovico's  secret,  in- 
sisted that  the  girl,  then  a  quasi-prisoner,  but 
mistress  of  "II  Moro,"  should  be  released  from  the 
Castle  of  Saronno  and  settled  in  life,  and  should 
take  her  child  by  Lodovico  Avith  her.  Lodovico 
resisted  for  a  time,  but  at  length  yielded  to  his 
wife's  insistence.  Cecilia  Gallerina  had  captivated 
"II  Moro"  in  1481,  when  she  was  a  young  girl  of 
seventeen.  He  had  sufficient  good  sense  not  to 
introduce  her  at  the  Milanese  Court,  but  made 


232    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

over  to  her  the  rights  of  the  castle  where  she 
resided,  and  where  he  made  constant  visits.  She 
was  a  beautiful  woman  and  highly  accomplished, 
and,  furthermore,  blessed  with  rare  tact.  She  at 
once  fell  in  with  Duchess  Beatrice's  proposition, 
and,  acting  most  discreetly,  never  appeared  at 
Court  even  after  her  marriage.  That  Beatrice 
was  jealous  of  her  husband's  attractive  mistress 
need  not  to  be  said  ;  indeed,  her  jealousy  took  a 
very  natural  course.  One  day,  it  was  said, 
Lodovico  sent  to  his  wife's  boudoir — it  was  her 
birthday — a  costly  gift,  a  splendid  robe  of  cloth  of 
gold,  so  stiff  that  it  stood  by  itself.  One  of  her 
ladies,  however,  told  her  that  Cecilia  Gallerina  had 
just  such  another.  Without  making  much  ado 
Beatrice  promptly  returned  the  costume  to  Lodo- 
vico, and  sent  a  message  that  she  declined  to 
accept  any  gift  which  was  a  duplicate  of  a  present 
to  his  mistress  !  That  Beatrice  bore  no  ill-wiU  to 
the  fair  favourite  personally  was  abundantly 
testified  by  her  remarkably  kind  conduct  later 
on,  when  she  admitted  that  "  no  one  could  do 
anything  else  but  love  such  a  fascinating  woman." 
Her  sister  Isabella  also  greatly  liked  Cecilia, 
and  actually  wanted  her  to  pay  her  a  visit  at 
Mantua. 

Further  light  is  thrown  upon  the  manner  of 
life  of  the  Milanese  Court  by  a  letter  from  Lodovico, 


LEGCO  233 

April  12,  1491,  to  IsabeUa  at  Mantua.  "  There 
is,"  he  wrote,  "  actually  no  end  to  the  pleasures 
and  amusements  which  we  have  here.  I  could 
not  tell  you  a  thousandth  part  of  the  tricks  and 
games  in  which  the  Duchess  of  Milan  and  my  wife 
indulge.  In  the  country  they  spend  their  time 
riding  races,  and  galloping  up  and  down  with  their 
ladies  at  full  speed,  trying  to  throw  the  latter  off 
their  horses.  Now  we  are  back  in  Milan  they  are 
still  inventing  new  forms  of  distraction.  They 
started  yesterday  in  all  the  rain — in  fact,  with  five 
or  six  ladies  wearing  cloths  or  towels  on  their 
heads — and  walked  through  the  principal  streets 
to  buy  provisions.  But  because  it  is  not  the 
custom  here  for  women  to  wear  cloths  on  their 
heads  some  of  the  market-women  began  to  laugh, 
and  made  rude  remarks,  upon  which,  I  hear, 
Beatrice  fired  up  and  answered  saucily,  so  much 
so  that  they  all  but  came  to  blows.  In  the  end 
they  came  home  safe  and  sound,  but  muddy  and 
bedraggled,  and  were  a  fine  sight !  I  believe  when 
your  Highness  is  here  they  will  go  out  with  all  the 
more  courage,  since  they  will  have  in  you  so  bold 
and  spirited  a  companion,  and  I  am  sure  that  if 
anybody  dares  to  be  rude  to  you  they  will 
get  back  as  much  if  not  more  than  they 
gave.  .  .  ." 

One    of     Beatrice's     favourite    prot6g6s     was 


234    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

Gaspare  Visconti,  whom  she  dubbed  "  Court  poet." 
He  speaks  thus  of  her  : 

"  Donna  Beata  e  Spirito  pudico, 
Deh  !  fa  benigna  a  questa  mia  richiesta 
La  Voglia  del  tuo  sposo  Lodovico. 

lo  so  ben  quel  che  dico 
Tanta  e  la  tua  virtu  che  cio  che  vuoi 
Dello  invitti  corde  disponer  puoi."* 

There  was  no  regular  theatre  in  Milan  until  the 
spacious  days  of  Duchess  Beatrice,  but,  due  to  her 
patronage  of  Niccolo  da  Correggio  and  his  com- 
pany, the  first  Scala  Theatre  was  erected  in  1493, 
and  opened  with  a  mask,  '' Mosposa  e  Daphne,'* 
delightfully  suggestive  of  the  influence  of  the 
sportive  consort  of  Lodovico.  There,  too,  Beatrice 
was  wont  to  listen  with  rapture  to  a  comely  youth, 
Angelo  Testagrossa,  whose  sweet  mezzo-soprano 
voice  thrilled  her  inner  soul.  She  called  him 
"  Voce  d^  un  Angelo,''  and  no  musical  picnic  was 
complete  without  him.  His  notes  seemed  to 
tremble  upon  the  sensitive  leaves  of  the  acacias, 
and  to  drop  from  the  fragrant  petals  of  the 
oleanders.  Indeed,  Beatrice  pictured  herself  in  a 
fantasy  of  Apollo  and  Daphne — beauty  and  song 

*  "  Resplendent  lady  and  most  chaste  spirit, 
Alas  !  for  me  that  thy  richest  merit 
Is  the  will  of  thy  spouse  Lodovico. 
Still  I,  too,  wiU  go  where'er  thou  Hstest, 
For  thy  charms  command  in  me  the  chiefest 
Joys  of  my  heart,  and  life's  sweetest  echo." 


LECCO  235 

transformed  and  eternal.  Perhaps  the  lad's  per- 
fect figure  enforced  upon  her  the  truth  of  the 
proverb  :  "  Perche  ne  la  forma  sta  il  tuto,'' — Beauty 
of  form  is  first  after  all. 

Duke  Giangaleazzo  died  in  1494,  and  his  widow, 
at  Duke  Lodovico's  invitation,  retained  her  own 
apartments  in  the  Corte  Ducale,  Duchess  Beatrice 
treated  her  with  the  utmost  kindness  and  con- 
sideration, and,  sharing  her  mourning,  restrained 
her  ardour  for  sport  and  gaiety.  By  a  singular 
mutual  arrangement  Duchess  Isabella  was  en- 
dowed by  Lodovico  with  his  Duchy  of  Bari,  and 
when  she  had  at  her  leisure  packed  up  her  belong- 
ings and  selected  a  sufficient  suite,  she  started  off 
to  her  distant  home  on  the  Adriatic.  She  took 
with  her  her  only  daughter  Bona.  Little  Bona, 
another  wee  "  Lady  of  the  Lakes,"  was  sought 
after  by  suitors  before  she  had  left  her  mother's 
leading-strings.  The  Duchess,  however,  had  a 
scheme  in  her  head  which  she  at  first  strove  to 
carry  into  execution.  Lodovico  Sforza's  son  Mas- 
similiano  appeared  to  be  an  ideal  husband.  Whilst 
complacent  to  a  very  full  extent  in  all  that  con- 
cerned their  grand-niece's  welfare,  both  Duke  and 
Duchess  placed  a  veto  on  this  union — another 
bride  was  destined  for  their  eldest  son. 

In  1494  Duke  Lodovico  invited, — unhappily  for 
his  own  security  as  it  turned  out, — Charles  VIII.  of 


236    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

France  to  undertake  a  campaign  against  Naples. 
The  expedition  was  eminently  successful,  but  on 
the  return  of  the  King  to  North  Italy  he  very  in- 
considerately absorbed  Lombardy,  and  the  Duke 
fled  to  Germany.  For  twelve  years  France  retained 
her  hold  upon  the  Duchy  of  Milan.  The  conduct 
of  Charles  was  the  more  treacherous  because  on 
his  entry  into  Italy  he  had  been  royaUy  entertained 
by  the  Duke  and  Duchess,  and  treated  them  quite 
reciprocally. 

The  first  meeting  of  the  King  and  Duke  had 
been  at  Asti  in  Monferrato,  where  Lodovico  was 
accompanied  by  Duke  Ercole  d'  Este  of  Ferrara, 
his  father-in-law,  Asti  being  the  advanced  post 
of  the  French  progress  in  Italy.  Duchess  Beatrice 
left  Milan  a  few  days  after  the  departure  of  the 
Duke,  but  she  wended  her  way  to  the  North,  and 
took  up  her  residence  at  the  Castle  of  Annona, 
upon  the  very  beautiful  lakelet  of  that  name  in 
the  Brianza.  There  was,  of  course,  a  method  in 
this  diversion,  for  the  Duke  had  not  a  little  mis- 
giving as  to  the  possibilities  of  a  French  invasion 
in  spite  of  his  invitation  to  King  Charles.  The 
royal  visitor  was  in  due  courtesy  bound  to  pay  his 
respects  to  the  fascinating  and  accomplished  reign- 
ing Duchess,  so  an  excursion  to  the  North  would 
have  the  advantage  of  diverting  the  French  from 
the  City  of  Milan.     Accordingly,  on  September  11, 


BEATRICE    D     ESTE,    DUCHESS    OF    MILAN 
PIEBO   DELLA   FRANCESCA 

JHtti  Palace,  Florence 


To  face  page  236 


LECCO  237 

Duchess  Beatrice  received  the  King  with  the 
greatest  empressement  and  with  unparalleled  splen- 
dour. Surrounded  by  her  Court  of  eighty  ladies 
of  good  birth  from  Milan,  Asti,  Alessandria,  and 
other  places  of  importance,  Charles,  vizor  in  hand 
and  sword  in  sheath,  advanced  to  the  centre  of 
the  great  audience-hall,  when  the  Duchess,  about 
to  curtsy  lowly,  was  raised  by  the  gallant 
Sovereign,  and  kissed  not  only  upon  the  hand  but 
on  the  cheek — a  very  welcome  recognition  of  her 
rights  as  a  sovereign  Princess.  Then,  illustrious 
courtier  that  he  was,  he  passed  to  Signora  Bianca, 
wife  of  Galeazzo  di  Sanseverino,  and  greeted  her ; 
in  short,  he  kissed  the  whole  bevy  of  fair  dames 
and  damsels  !  The  King  and  Duchess  conversed 
for  quite  a  long  time,  and  then  she  proposed  certain 
amusements  for  her  royal  guest,  to  which  he  quite 
delightedly  acceded.  Beatrice  has,  in  a  letter  to 
her  sister.  Marchioness  Isabella  of  Mantua,  recorded 
the  day's  delights.  "  About  half -past  five,"  she 
wrote,  "  the  King  came,  in  a  very  homely  fashion, 
with  his  suite  of  noble  lords  and  knights — a  goodly 
following — and  remained  about  three  hours  with 
me  and  my  ladies,  on  such  a  familiar  and  amiable 
footing  that  nothing  more  charming  could  be 
desired  by  anyone.  He  wanted  to  see  the  ladies 
dance,  and  then  he  asked  me  to  do  the  same,  and 
he  found  it  all  quite  bewitching." 


238    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

This  tactful  Princess  had  called  aU  her  wits  into 
play  to  dazzle  as  well  as  amuse  the  dreaded 
monarch,  who  had  a  man's  weak  points  all  the 
same — admiration  and  love  of  pretty  and  sprightly 
women  !  He  had,  moreover,  a  fondness  for  pomps 
and  vanities  of  fashion.  Charles  was  just  twenty- 
four  years  of  age  ;  he  was  the  spouse  of  a  lovely 
woman,  as  wise  and  rich  as  she  was  beautiful — 
Anne,  daughter  and  heiress  of  Francis  II.,  Duke 
of  Brittany,  who  was  at  the  time  of  Charles's 
invasion  of  Italy  only  eighteen  years  old.  He 
and  his  courtiers  were  amazed  at  the  magnificence 
of  their  reception,  and  particularly  at  the  gorgeous- 
ness  of  the  Duchess's  apparel.  Her  jewels  greatly 
outnumbered  Charles's ;  she  was  weighed  down 
with  chains  and  coUars  of  solid  gold  and  flashing 
gems,  and  her  fingers  were  completely  covered 
with  fine  rings.  She  wore  upon  her  head  a  Ducal 
crown  of  gold,  studded  with  huge  diamonds  and 
rubies.  The  Duchess's  robes  were  cloth  of  gold 
and  silver  tissue  worn  over  the  richest  petticoats  of 
costly  green  silk  velvet ;  her  train  was  a  mass  of 
curious  embroidery  in  calabalistic  figures  and 
designs  of  witchcraft — so  at  least  they  seemed  to 
be  to  the  French  visitors. 

King  Charles  remained  at  the  Castle  of  Annona 
for  quite  a  considerable  time,  fascinated  by 
the    brilliant    castellana.     Thither,    too,    flocked 


LEGCO  239 

"  Lords  and  Ladies  of  the  Lakes,"  all  arrayed  most 
richly  as  for  a  tournament.     The  Duchess  amused 
her  royal  guest  with  riding  expeditions  and  stag- 
hunts.     Each   day   she   went  forth  to  meet  the 
King  in  splendid  raiment.     One  day, — mounted 
on  a  pure  white  steed  caparisoned  in  cloth  of  gold 
and  crimson  velvet,^ — she  wore  a  habit  of  green 
cloth  and  a  lace  chemisette  open  at  the  breast. 
Her  well-curled  hair  was  tired  with  gold  cord  and 
pearls,  and  tied  with  silk  ribbons  floating  down  her 
back.     She  wore  a  crimson,  wide-brimmed  felt  hat 
turned  up  at  the  side,  with  six  red  feathers  and  a 
jewelled  brooch.     She  sat  astride,  as  did  her  suite 
of  twenty  beautiful  girls, — each  attired  like  her- 
self.    Six  chariots  followed,  lined  with  cloth  of 
gold  and  green  velvet,  filled  with  ladies  of  her 
Court  magnificently  dressed. 

On  the  third  day  of  the  royal  visit  Charles  was 
indisposed,  and  could  not  accept  his  beauteous 
hostess's  challenge  to   the  chase,   but  remained 
quietly  in  his  quarters.     The  Duchess  despatched 
her  ladies  and  the  French  courtiers  to  the  forest, 
but  she  very  adroitly  spent  the  morning  in  the 
villa  gardens,  when,  quite  unexpectedly,  Charles 
came  upon  her.     What  passed  there  it  would  be 
quite  unkind  to  divulge — it  was  one  of  Cupid's 
stolen  opportunities,  and  the  wicked  little  Prince 
enslaved  the  amorous  King,  so  that  he  had  no 

IG 


240    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

escape  !     At  dinner  in  the  evening  the  Duchess 
again  welcomed  the  King,  clothed  in  lustrous  green 
satin — green  was  her  favourite  colour,  as  we  may 
well  suppose; — the   body,   back  and   front,   was 
stitched  thickly  with  flashing  jewels,  and  had  the 
appearance  of  a  cuirass.     The  sleeves  were  tight, 
but  puffed  on  the  shoulder,  and  entwined  with  bands 
of  rubies.     Her  bosom  was  bare,^ — the  chemisette 
merely    covering    her    corsets, — and    round   her 
throat  she  wore  the  biggest  pearls  Charles  had 
ever  seen.     Upon  her  head  Beatrice  had  a  jaunty 
little  red  velvet  cap,  after  the  French  fashion,  with 
an  aigrette  of  green  feathers,  and  a  great  pear- 
shaped  pearl  surrounded  with  diamonds  and  rubies. 
The  King  had  completely  recovered  from  his 
indisposition,  and  was  the  merriest  of  the  merry  at 
the  feast.     After  a  judicious  rest  Charles  challenged 
Beatrice  to  a  minuet,  and  desired  his  courtiers  to 
find  partners  too.     Beatrice, — a  past  mistress  of 
dancing, — had  not  the  slightest  difficulty  in  step- 
ping and  posturing  in  the  French  way,  very  greatly 
to  the  King's  dehght.     He  paid  her  numerous 
compliments,  of  course,  and,  among  the  rest,  he 
said :  "  Madame,  I  have  never  seen  a  dancer  haK 
so  accomphshed  nor  anything  Hke  so  graceful  as 
your    Highness    is,    and    your    ladies    are    quite 
wonderful,  and  have  won  the  hearts  of  all  my 
lords,  as  you  yourself  have  mine  !" 


LEGCO  241 

Charles  passed  upon  his  way,  and  Beatrice  never 
saw  him  again  until  he  appeared  in  1500  before  the 
walls  of  Milan,  and  demanded  the  keys  and  the 
person  of  her  husband  !  Was  man  ever  more 
base  ?  was  lover  ever  more  fickle  ?  but  perhaps 
the  fascinating  Duchess  did  not  share  the  exile 
of  her  lord  !     Was  Beatrice  fickle,  too  ? 

In  close  attendance  upon  King  Charles  was  one 
of  the  most  famous  soldiers  of  the  century,  Le 
Chevalier  Pierre  de  Terrail,  commonly  called 
Bayart,  son  of  Aymon,  the  Lord  of  Bayart, — "  Sana 
peur  et  sans  reproche.''  The  rendezvous  at  Annona 
was  quite  to  his  liking,  and  no  man  in  all  that 
splendid  cavalcade  bore  himself  more  chivalrously. 
Duchess  Beatrice  was  smitten  by  his  fame  and 
person,  and  reluctantly  resigned  him  to  the 
fascinations  of  Signora  Anna  Sforza,  whilst  she 
diplomatically  inveigled  the  young  King.  Thus 
Mars  and  Vulcan  were  both  disarmed  by  Venus  ! 

Signora  Anna  Sforza  was  one  of  the  great 
"  Ladies  of  the  Lakes,"  not  only  by  her  relation- 
ship to  Lodovico  and  Beatrice,  but  on  account  of 
her  association  with  the  lakes  of  the  Brianza  ;  for 
she  had  been  brought  up  with  her  sister  Bianca 
Maria,— who  married  the  Emperor  Maximilian, — 
chiefly  at  the  villa  of  the  Sforzas  on  the  Lake  of 
Annona.  Her  marriage  was  arranged  in  connec- 
tion  with  that  of   Beatrice.     She  had  been  be- 


242     LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

trothed  to  the  eldest  son  of  Duke  Ercole  d'  Este — 
Prince  Alfonso — when  they  were  both  infants, 
and  Alfonso  accompanied  his  sister  to  Milan  for  the 
wedding  festivities,  with  the  view  of  escorting  his 
bride  back  to  Ferrara.  The  parting  of  Anna  Sforza 
with  her  loved  ones  in  Milan  was,  as  historians 
have  recorded,  "  sad,  for  everyone  was  oppressed 
by  the  thought  that  they  would  never  see  her 
more."  This  presage  of  sorrow  was  fulfilled  within 
a  twelvemonth,  for  she  died  in  giving  birth  to  her 
first-born.  "  She  was  very  beautiful  and  very 
charming,  with  a  sweet  temper  and  gentle  disposi- 
tion, but  there  is  little  to  tell  about  her,  because 
she  lived  so  short  a  time  " — so  a  quaint  chronicler 
sums  up  her  story.  One  of  Alessandro  Moretto's 
most  striking  pictures  is  entitled  "Santa  Gius- 
tina."  In  a  beautiful  landscape  is  the  standing 
figure  of  a  magnificent  woman,  young  and  of  noble 
bearing.  At  her  feet  kneels  a  richly  clad  Prince, 
and  beside  her  is  a  unicorn.  This  may  very  well 
be  a  portrait-study  of  Anna  Sforza-d'Este ;  any- 
how, the  kneeling  Prince  is  Alfonso  d'Este,  and 
the  unicorn  is  the  emblem  of  chastity. 

Duchess  Beatrice  surrounded  herself  with  litterati 
and  artists,  the  most  distinguished  in  Europe  ; 
and  whither  her  fancy  led  her  they  followed — wor- 
shippers at  the  shrine  of  the  "  Sforza  Sappho." 
In  the  Brianza,  upon  the  Lakes,  in   Lodovico's 


LUCREZIA    CUEVELLI 

BERNARDO   MARTINI   (ZENALE) 
Neicall  Collection 


To  face  page  242 


LECCO  243 

many  villas,  along  the  valleys  of  the  Adda  and  the 
Lambro,  and  north  and  south  of  Milan,  poets  re- 
cited their  stanzas, — Gaspare  Visconti  and  Niccolo 
da  Correggio, — musicians  strummed  on  organs  of 
gold,  and  ebony,  and  inlaid  pearl,  and  on  resonant 
lancewood  and  silver  violins, — Lorenzo  da  Pavia 
and  Jacopo  di  San  Secondo.  Jehan  Cordier,  a 
Flemish  poetaster,  was  the  Duchess's  constant 
companion.  At  Annona,  Cuzzago,  and  elsewhere, 
his  mellow  tenor  voice, — aKresco  or  in  camera, — 
blended  delightfully  with  her  clear  soprano.  He 
was  a  priest  also  by  profession,  and  sang  the  Mass 
so  deliciously  that  often  enough  he  moved  the 
Duchess  to  tears  and  emotional  utterances. 

The  gardens  of  her  villas, — scenes  not  only  of 
pastoral  delights  and  musical  distractions, — were 
sometimes  vocal  with  acrimonious  altercaticms 
following  gay  supper-parties.  The  ladies  quar- 
relled over  the  merits  of  their  favourite  condottieri 
and  their  most  favoured  cavalieri,  and  sometimes 
the  disputes  waxed  hot,  so  that  it  needed  all  the 
smartness  and  effrontery  of  jesters,  dwarfs,  and 
other  comical  people  to  prevent  dangerous  rup- 
tures. Leonardo  da  Vinci's  advent  to  Milan  was 
hailed  delightedly  by  the  Sforza  Princesses.  He 
undertook  to  stage-manage  the  Court  festivities, 
and  splendid  was  their  rendition.  A  ballet  of 
peasants  of  the  Brianza  had,  in  particular,  great 


244    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

success  :  the  maestro  dressed  the  men  in  red,  the 
girls  in  blue, — the  Sforza  colours, — and  posed  them 
to  form  the  names  "  Lodovico  "  and  "  Beatrice." 
With  his  own  hands,  too,  he  modelled  the  tourna- 
ment champion's  wreath  of  gold  and  silver  laurel- 
leaves,  which  Duchess  Beatrice  placed  upon  the 
brow  of  Galeazzo  di  Sanseverino,  the  husband  of 
Duke  Lodovico' s  daughter  Bianca.  Leonardo, 
too,  reset  all  Beatrice's  jewels  and  designed  her 
dresses — a  frivolous  occupation  for  such  a  serious 
genius  !  He  also  relaid  out  the  gardens  of  the 
castle,  and  erected  gorgeous  triumphal  arches. 

All  roads  led  to  Milan  and  its  castle  whilst 
Lodovico  and  Beatrice  held  their  state  therein. 
The  Duchess  has  left  a  name  for  great  personal 
activity.  Daily  she  heard  Mass  privately ;  then, 
breakfast  over,  she  rode  off  with  her  ladies  and 
scoured  the  countryside.  Dinner  in  due  course 
was  followed  by  cosy  card-parties, — Scartino, 
Reveil  des  Moris,  or  Ulmperiale, — and  supper  by 
dance  and  song.  Her  dresses  were  often  remark- 
able for  singularity :  one,  of  stiff  yellow  satin 
brocade,  bore  in  embroidery  a  representation  of  the 
Port  of  Genoa  ;  she  wore  with  this  a  black  Spanish 
lace  mantilla,  and  had  red  carnations  stuck  in  her 
hair  and  in  the  corsage.  Anna  Sforza  rivalled  her 
sister-in-law  in  the  gorgeousness  of  her  attire.  At 
the  entertainment  of  King  Charles  VIII.  and  Le 


LEGCO  245 

Chevalier  Bayart,  at  Anonna,  she  wore  stiff  cloth 
of  gold  covered  with  the  letters  of  the  alphabet 
in  raised  silver-work  on  blue  velvet.  Another  of 
her  confections  was  of  corded  white  silk,  with  lions 
embroidered  in  natural  colours.  Both  these  great 
ladies  affected  Marchioness  Isabella's  taste  for 
coloured  velvet  mantles  lined  with  black  satin, 
and  stitched  all  over  with  passementerie. 

Duchess  Beatrice  died  January  2,  1497.  She 
had  in  the  afternoon  driven  through  the  city  to 
pray  at  Duchess  Bianca's  tomb,  and  afterwards 
had,  with  intense  pleasure,  watched  her  ladies 
dance  some  new  measures.  Three  hours  later  she 
gave  birth  prematurely  to  a  dead  son,  and  died  as 
soon  as  her  labour  was  ended.  "  That  night," 
the  chronicler  Corio  noted,  "  the  whole  sky  right 
over  the  castle  was  on  fire,  and  the  walls  of  the 
Duchess's  gardens  fell  down  with  an  appalling 
crash,  although  no  earthquake  or  any  other  un- 
canny omen  chanced."  The  Duke  was  stunned ; 
he  was  a  changed  man.  He  put  himself,  his 
household,  and  the  castle  in  deepest  mourning, 
and  day  followed  day  witnessing  to  his  devotion  to 
religious  exercises.  Duchess  Beatrice's  name  was, 
by  his  order,  placed  upon  every  public  building 
in  Milan,  and  in  all  the  streets,  encircled  by  a 
wreath  of  cypress.  He  lavished  money  on  the 
churches  for  Masses  and  Requiems,  and  took  no 


246    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

further  interest  in  the  affairs  of  his  Duchy.  At 
length  he  shut  himself  up  in  the  castle,  and  there 
remained  until  the  ever-active  foes  of  Lombardy 
came  banging  at  its  portals.  Even  then  he  made 
no  effort,  but  pleaded  with  Beatrice, — her  love,  her 
help.  "  As  long  as  the  Rocca  stands  I  know  that 
I  shall  be  safe  !"  Still,  in  the  midst  of  his  desola- 
tion he  gave  a  thought  to  his  mistress  Lucrezia 
Crevelli,  for  he  executed  a  legal  document  in  July 
of  the  same  year,  making  very  ample  provision  for 
her  son  Cesare  by  a  grant  of  the  lands  and  revenues 
at  Cuzzago  and  Saronno. 

On  September  2,  1499,  Lodovico  secretly  left 
Milan,  and,  incognito,  made  his  way  to  Innsbruck. 
Four  days  later  the  French,  under  Giangiacomo 
Trivulzio,  Marquis  of  Vigera,  entered  the  city,  and 
received  from  the  Governor  the  surrender  of  the 
castle.  It  and  the  whole  city  were  given  over  to 
unrestrained  pillage.  The  looters  revenged  them- 
selves especially  upon  the  apartments  of  the  late 
Duchess.  Her  furniture,  her  pictures,  her  trea- 
sures, and  her  wardrobe  were  all  scattered  and 
destroyed,  and  her  name  was  torn  down  wherever 
emblazoned.  Why  this  savagery,  addressed  to 
the  memory  of  the  accomplished  and  beautiful 
Beatrice,  was  perpetrated  no  one  has  declared  ; 
she  was,  and  always  had  been,  the  friend  of  the 
people,   and  popular  with  all  parties.     Rumour 


LEGCO  247 

certainly  had  it  that  the  general  frenzy  was 
directed  by  no  less  a  personage  than  Trivulzio, 
who  thus  took  revenge  for  the  rejection  of  an  un- 
worthy suit !  It  was  mean  and  sordid,  to  be  sure 
— the  foam  of  a  troubled  sea  of  jealousy  :  Trivulzio 
versus  Sforza,  with  the  concentrated  hate  of  a 
disappointed  lover  ! 

Sad,  indeed,  became  the  state  of  the  Castle  of 
Milan  in  the  possession  of  an  ill-conditioned  French 
garrison.  "  It  was  now  a  place  of  dirty  booths 
and  dirty  tales.  The  French  are  a  dirty  people — 
Captains  spit  on  the  floor,  and  soldiers  openly 
outrage  women  in  the  streets  !" 

Cecilia  Gallerina  had  not  been  the  only  rival 
to  Duchess  Beatrice  in  the  affections  of  her  hus- 
band ;  his  liaison  with  Lucrezia  Crevelli  was  a  still 
more  serious  menace  to  her  peace  of  mind. 
Beatrice,  however,  philosophically  entered  into 
the  sentiments  of  the  time  ;  she  was  Lodovico's 
lawful  wife,  and  no  mistress  should  oust  her  from 
her  position.  She  would  do  as  aU  other  women 
did — grant  her  lord  the  freedom  she  took  herself. 
Marriage  was  a  ceremonial  contract,  and  by  no 
means  limited  the  passions  of  the  heart,  the  eye, 
the  ear  !  Perhaps  Beatrice  secretly  felt  keenly 
the  intrusions  of  Lucrezia,  for  she  had  come  to  her 
at  Ferrara  as  a  child  to  play  with,  and  had  accom- 
panied her  to  Milan  as  a  confidential  attendant. 
Cecilia,  Duke  Lodovico  had  discreetly  kept  away 


248    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

from  the  Court  and  castle,  but  Lucrezia  he  kissed 
before  his  wife's  face  at  Milan.  The  only  way- 
Beatrice  had  to  save  her  own  reputation  and 
Lucrezia's  was  to  attach  her  as  closely  as  possible 
to  her  own  person.  The  Duchess  never  left  the 
palace  without  Lucrezia  at  her  side,  and  she  never 
excused  her  presence  when  in  residence  at  the 
castle.  This  was  doubtless  a  mistaken  sort  of 
espionage,  for  Lodovico  and  Lucrezia  had  their 
meetings  all  the  same. 

With  the  passing  of  Lodovico  "  II  Moro  "  and 
Beatrice,  the  glory  of  the  Sforza  dynasty  ended. 
The  happy  days,  however,  of  "  La  Sforza  Saffo  "  were 
revived  in  1513,  when  her  eldest  son,  MassimiHano, 
was  called  to  the  vacant  Duchy.  The  first  guest 
of  honour  was  his  aunt.  Marchioness  Isabella  of 
Mantua ;  but,  alas  !  the  reign  of  beautiful  and  cul- 
tured Duchesses  of  Milan  was  nearing  its  end. 
The  "  Ladies  of  the  Lakes  "  fled  before  the  new 
invasion  of  the  "  dirty  French "  under  King 
Francis  I.  ;  but  they  were  once  more  driven  out, 
and  Charles  V.  proclaimed  Beatrice's  second  son, 
Francesco  Maria,  Duke  of  Milan.  He  brought  to 
the  dilapidated  castle  his  bride.  Princess  Cristina 
of  Denmark,  no  more  than  thirteen  years  old. 
They  reigned  subject  to  the  will  and  fancy  of  the 
Emperor ;  and  when  the  Duke  died,  in  1535, 
Charles's  son  Philip  received  the  Duchy,  which  he 
and  his  successors  held  for  two  hundred  years. 


CRISTINA    DI    DANEMARCA,    DUCHESS    OF    MILAN 

HANS   HOLBEIN 

National  Gallery,  London 


To  face  page  248 


LECCO  249 

Duchess  Cristina,  widowed  at  twenty-six,  seems 
to  have  been  chosen  as  an  eligible  successor  to 
Jane  Seymour,  third  consort  of  Henry  VIII.  of 
England.  With  this  in  view,  Holbein  was  sent 
ofE  to  Brussels  to  paint  her  portrait — the  Duchess 
of  Milan  of  the  National  Gallery.  Negotiations 
fell  through,  and  the  royal  widow  married,  in  1540, 
Francis,  Duke  of  Lorraine,  and  was  again  widowed 
three  years  after.  She  died  in  1590.  Then  fol- 
lowed the  Austrian  domination,  to  be  swept  away 
by  the  forces  of  Napoleon  Buonaparte.  The 
Austrians  made  of  the  grand  old  castle  a  barracks 
and  the  French  a  brothel ;  and  then,  for  one 
hundred  years,  ruin  and  desolation  reigned 
supreme,  and  the  stones  of  the  venerable  buildings 
cried  aloud  for  deliverance.  In  1893  a  new  palace 
arose  like  a  phoenix — not,  indeed,  to  be  the  theatre 
of  brilliant  Ck)urts,  but  a  gallery  of  art  treasures. 
The  memory  of  the  Sforzas  is  retained  by  the 
Ponticella  di  Lodovico  "  il  Moro  " — the  bridge  over 
the  disused  moat,  with  its  beautiful  loggia,  passing 
over  which  those  who  love  the  old,  old  stories  may, 
perhaps,  hear  eerie  voices,  and  see,  at  dark,  weird 
phantoms.  "  Lords  and  Ladies  "  of  the  past  still 
haunt  the  ancient  precincts,  and  chide  the  modern 
modes  of  "  Lords  and  Ladies  "  of  to-day. 


CHAPTER  V 
"  SEBINO  " 
LAKE    OF    ISEO    AND    THE    VALLEYS    OF    BERGAMO 
AND   BRESCIA. 

IsEO, — Lacus  Sebinus  of  the  Latins, — in  shape  re- 
sembles nothing  more  nearly  than  the  flickering 
flame  of  a  candle  ;  and  this  is  quite  as  it  should  be, 
for  one  of  the  derivatives  of  the  name  is  "  Psyche," 
— the  Spirit  or  Soul  of  Humanity.  Iseo  is  the 
Psyche  of  the  Paradise  of  the  Italian  Lakes.  En- 
sconced in  the  greenest  of  landscapes,  and  gazing 
up  into  the  bluest  of  skies,  the  reflections  upon  her 
gently  rippling  waters  are  delicious  opal  hues  of 
emerald  and  sapphire.  The  lips  of  delicate  wave- 
lets are  kissed  by  the  sweet-scented  zephyrs  from 
the  gracious  plain  of  Lombardy,  but  are  ever  and 
anon  ravished  by  the  strenuous  breezes  of  the 
Val  Camonica.  Her  verdant  locks  of  myrtle  and 
laurel  are  the  tokens  of  the  poetic  romance  of  her 
story.  Drama  and  tragedy  she  tramples  under  her 
well-shaped  feet — the  cities  of  Bergamo  and 
Brescia,  so  to  speak, — whilst  "  she  dances,"  as 
Castiglione  says,  "  all  day  long  in  the  lustful  sun." 

250 


''  SEBINO  "  251 

Like  the  sensuous  form  of  the  idyllic  Goddess  of 
Love,  wrapped  in  diaphanous  veils  of  mist  and 
mystery,  Iseo  is  ever  spanned  by  scintillating 
rainbows.  All  the  livelong,  golden  day,  and  into 
the  silvered  moonshine,  the  human  entities  around 
the  lake  laugh  and  sing  right  merrily.  The  air  is 
like  the  effervescence  of  rare  champagne :  it 
exhilarates  mind  and  body.  Maybe  harvest  and 
vintage  are  prolonged  through  winter's  solstice, 
for  spring  seems  to  grasp  the  hand  of  autumn. 
'' Doux  et  frais,  comme  une  eclogue  de  Virgile,^^ 
voiced  Georges  Sand's  encomium  of  the  delights  of 
the  Lake  of  Iseo.  The  very  name, — like  that  of 
Cupid's  sweetheart, — has  in  it  the  echo  of  ecstasy, — 
life's  heart's  passions  foaming  over.  That  volatile 
French  "  Lady  of  the  Lake  "  roved  over  land  and 
sea  to  find  an  Elysium,  and  when  she  discovered 
Iseo,  she  brought  her  second  self,  Lucrezia  Floriana, 
— such  a  suggestive  appellation, — to  realize  the 
ideal  life  under  the  red-purple  vine  pergolas  and 
the  silver-gilt  olive-groves  of  Sebino. 

The  very  lovely  marble  group,  *'  Psyche  and 
Cupid,"  at  the  Villa  Carlotta,  on  the  Lake  of  Como, 
is  a  dream  creation  almost  incarnating  the  loves 
of  the  mystic  pair.  Canova  has  caught  absolutely 
the  spirit  of  idealism,  and  his  chef-d'oeuvre  is  the 
realization  of  the  spirit  and  the  life  of  Lake  Iseo. 
The  charms  of  Psyche  are  displayed  everywhere 


252    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

upon  its  bosom  and  its  shores.  "  Fauna  "  and 
"  Flora  "  may  be  goddesses  of  a  sublime  Paradise, 
but  they  reign,  too,  here  seraphic  ally  in  every 
created  form.  Insects  and  plants  are  all  Psyche's 
own.  Dragon-flies  flit  gorgeously  among  the  snap- 
dragons ;  butterflies  poise  elegantly  upon  butter- 
cups ;  fire-flies  are  instinct  beneath  fritillaries  ; 
honey-bees  quaff  the  nectar  of  honeysuckles ; 
cheerful  crickets  sing  amid  shimmering  grass  and 
fragrant  herbs  ;  and  the  gossamer  spider  weaves 
his  tinted  silken  web,  wet  with  crystal  dewdrops, 
here  and  there  and  everywhere.  What  would  you 
more  ?     It  is — 

"  Psyche  !  Psyche  !  all  the  way  ! 
Awake,  my  love,  awake." 

The  voice  which  cries  on  Iseo's  shores  must  be 
the  voice  of  Psyche  !  Everything  and  everybody 
is  full  of  delightful  unrestraint — fuU  of  tranquillity 
and  peace ;  nowhere  is  human  life  so  simple, 
nowhere  love  more  free. 


Samico  is  the  first  station  on  the  Lake  of  Iseo. 
There,  and  at  every  town  and  village  along  the 
shores,  are  painted  houses  which  overhang  the 
water.  To  drop  into  the  most  deUcious  of  all 
natural  baths  is  a  matter  of  the  greatest  ease  ;  but 


"SEBINO"  253 

this  characteristic  has  in  it  an  element  of  danger, 
and  Psyche  of  the  sirens'  haunt  may  become  the 
vampire  of  the  unwary,  even  in  gracious,  smiling 
Iseo,  so  deep  are  the  intrigues  of  Love !  "  Take 
care,"  says  a  time-honoured  caution  on  the  spot, 
"  or  the  Maddalena  will  thrust  out  her  hand  and 
draw  thee  down  !"  The  name  itself,  "  Sarnico," 
has  in  it  a  suggestiveness — its  meaning  is  "  catch- 
ing cold." 

At  Predole  was,  in  years  gone  by,  an  ancient 
castle,  but  in  1404  the  Ghibellines  of  Lovere,  at  the 
head  of  the  lake,  came  down  from  the  Val  Camo- 
nica,  eight  hundred  strong,  led  by  their  valiant 
Captain,  Giustiniano  Camillo,  not  alone  to  strike 
a  blow  at  the  Papacy,  but  to  revenge  the  destruc- 
tion of  rich  olive-woods.  Iseo, — the  busiest  town- 
let  upon  the  lake,  and  its  sponsor, — has  a  ruined 
castle  also  ;  but  the  town's  associations  are  rather 
with  a  Uving  present  than  a  decadent  past,  for 
dyers,  silk-weavers,  and  coppersmiths  are  thriving 
craftsmen.  In  the  middle  of  the  lake  ib  the  very 
picturesque  islet  of  Santa  Maria  d'  Iseo,  with  its 
sanctuary  of  the  Madonna  della  Purificazione, 
built  by  the  warlike  family  of  Oldofredi,  as  "an 
accommodation  with  Heaven,"  in  the  fifteenth 
century.  There,  side  by  side,  each  second  day  of 
February, — the  feast  of  Candlemas, — are  lighted 
by  devout  Bergamese  their  decorated  candelore, 


254    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

and  by  no  less  pious  Bresciaese  their  equally  well- 
adorned  seriole — good  pilgrims  all.  The  peasants 
dance  Lupercalian  measures,  and  illuminate  their 
cottages  with  gilded  candles ;  and  these  things  they 
did  even  before  Pope  Gelasius  in  499  Christianized 
the  heathen  festival.  Many  beautiful  villas  nowa- 
days adorn  the  meads  and  glades  of  Iseo  :  upon 
the  rocky  islet  of  Loreto,  with  its  monastic  church 
of  San  Paolo,  dating  from  1470,  Duchess  Felicita 
Bivilacqua — La  Masa,  of  Verona,  built  the  fine 
Gothic  castle,  funds  for  which  were  furnished  by 
the  drawing  of  the  first  prize  in  a  lottery  of  the 
Banco  Nazionale.  The  castle  was  purchased  in 
1900  by  Commendatore  Vincenzio  Ricchieri,  and 
it  is  now  called  after  his  name. 

Velio  is  most  appropriately  named — the  place 
of  wool  or  hair.  Sheep's  fleeces  as  rich  as  those  of 
Spain  in  Renaissance  times  are  washed,  and  fine 
carded  wool  is  spooled.  Tenderest  fluffs  thereof 
hold  capricious  revels  in  the  air :  to  catch  them  is 
the  difficulty  ;  hence  the  common  saying,  "  Velio  ! 
vello  !"— Here  it  is  !— a  will-o'-the-wisp  of  Psyche  ! 
Velio  looks  across  to  Riva — the  fairest  shore  of 
beauteous  Iseo — where  every  fragrant,  shady, 
flowering  bush  rejoices  in  full  growth,  and  crystal 
sand  lines  all  the  beach. 

With  respect  to  Pisogne,  near  Lovere,  and  one 
of   Iseo's   many  beauty-spots — a   haunt   of   the 


^  i 

> 
n 


"  SEBINO  '*  255 

elves  and  nymphs — there  is  a  very  piquant  story. 
The  fine  church  of  the  Madonna  della  Neve  (Our 
Lady  of  the  Snows)  stands  boldly  upon  a  spur  of 
Monte  Guglielmo ;  and  natives  of  the  village 
desired  Girolamo  Romanino,  the  Brescian  master, 
to  paint  the  walls  with  frescoes.  One  of  his  sub- 
jects was  "  St.  Christopher  bearing  the  Infant 
Christ,"  but  the  amount  (one  hundred  and  fifty 
livres)  offered  by  way  of  remuneration  was  so 
beggarly  that,  to  put  his  patrons  to  shame,  he 
depicted  the  Christian  giant  with  a  very  scanty 
dress.  When  protests  were  raised,  Romanino, 
with  a  wink  in  his  eye,  replied  :  "  Short  skirts, 
short  pay  !" — and  the  painter  passed  on  to  adorn 
other  sanctuaries  in  the  Val  Camonica. 

Lovere  is  the  chief  place  on  Iseo's  banks  ;  one 
looks  thence  right  down  the  lake,  and  right  up  the 
Val  Camonica — a  perfect  situation  for  a  villeggia- 
tura.  The  town  has  a  twofold  reputation  :  it  is 
in  miniature  Tunbridge  Wells  joined  to  Newcastle 
— an  odd  adjointure.  Mineral  springs  attract  the 
ailing,  and  iron  and  cannon  foundries  the  mili- 
tant. Many  world-famous  families  of  artist- 
artisans  have  had  their  origin  in  Lovere  :  the  Belli, 
the  Zambellini,  and  the  Capodiferri,  perhaps  the 
most  renowned.  They  were  sculptors  in  stone,  in 
metal,  and  in  wood,  and  they  and  their  likes  were 
noted  for  skilful  intarsia  work.      Sons  of  these 

17 


256    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

artificers  travelled  all  over  Italy  embellishing 
churches  and  palaces  with  their  beautiful  handi- 
work. The  mother  church  of  Santa  Maria  in 
Valvendra  has  frescoes  by  Romanino,  and  the 
replica  of  the  monument  by  Canova  to  Count 
AchiUeo  Tadini's  only  daughter  Teresa,  who, 
unhappily,  was  crushed  to  death  by  the  fall  of  an 
arch  at  Volpino  in  the  Val  Camonica.  She  and  a 
merry  party  of  young  people  had  gone  off  for  a 
picnic  in  the  woods,  and  the  maiden,  the  happiest 
of  the  lot  and  the  most  venturesome,  had  dared 
to  cross  the  ancient  structure  to  gain  a  wager. 
The  Tadini  Palace  was  in  1828  converted,  by  the 
munificence  of  Count  Luigi,  into  a  public  picture- 
gallery,  with  four  hundred  paintings  by  celebrated 
Italian  masters,  and  many  other  art  treasures. 

The  great  charm  of  Iseo,  and  of  Lovere  in  par- 
ticular, was  "  discovered  "  by  a  very  remarkable 
Englishwoman — a  true  "  Lady  of  the  Lake  " — 
Lady  Mary  Wortley  Montagu.  Writing  to  her 
daughter,  the  Countess  of  Bute,  July  21,  1747, 
she  says  :  "  I  am  now  in  a  place  the  most  beauti- 
fully romantic  I  ever  saw  in  my  life."  She  had, 
it  seems,  been  recommended  by  her  doctor  at 
Brescia  to  visit  Lovere  for  the  sake  of  the  waters. 
She  goes  on  to  say  in  her  letter  :  "  It  is  the  Tun- 
bridge  Wells  of  this  part  of  the  world  to  which  I 
have  been  sent  by  a  doctor  for  the  ague.     I  have 


"  SEBINO  "  257 

found  a  good  lodging,  and  a  great  deal  of  company, 
and  a  village  in  many  respects  like  the  Wells,  not 
only  in  the  quality  of  the  water,  which  is  the  same, 
but  in  the  manner  of  the  buildings,  most  of  the 
houses  being  separate  at  little  distances,  and  built 
on  the  sides  of  hills,  which,  indeed,  are  far  different 
from  those  of  Tunbridge  Wells,  being  six  times 
as  high.  They  are  really  vast  rocks  of  different 
figures,  covered  with  green  moss  and  short  grass, 
diversified  by  tufts  of  trees,  little  woods,  and  here 
and  there  vineyards,  but  no  other  cultivation, 
except  gardens  like  Richmond  Hill.  The  fountain 
where  we  drink  the  waters  rises  between  two  over- 
hanging hills,  and  is  overshadowed  with  large  trees 
that  give  a  freshness  in  the  hottest  time  of  the 
day." 

In  another  letter  to  her  daughter,  written  six 
weeks  later.  Lady  Mary  describes  her  residence, 
and  gives  other  interesting  information.  "  I  have 
been,"  she  wrote,  "  here  six  weeks,  and  still  am 
at  my  dairy-house,  which  joins  my  garden.  I 
believe  I  have  already  told  you  it  is  a  long  mile 
from  the  castle,  which  is  situate  in  the  midst  of 
a  very  large  village,  once  a  considerable  town, 
part  of  the  walls  still  remaining,  and  has  just 
vacant  ground  enough  about  it  to  make  a  garden, 
which  is  my  greatest  amusement.  It  is  on  a  bank, 
forming  a  kind  of  peninsula  raised  from  the  River 


258    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

Oglio  fifty  feet,  to  which  you  descend  by  easy 
steps  cut  in  the  turf,  and  either  take  the  air  on  the 
river,  which  is  as  wide  as  the  Thames  at  Rich- 
mond ;  or,  by  walking  up  an  avenue  two  hundred 
yards  on  the  side  of  it,  you  find  a  wood  of  one 
hundred  acres,  which  was  already  cut  into  walks 
and  ridings  when  I  took  it.  I  have  only  added 
fifteen  bowers  for  different  views,  with  seats  of 
turf;  I  am  now  writing  to  you  in  one  of  these 
arbours,  which  is  so  thick-shaded  the  sun  is  not 
troublesome,  even  at  noon.  Another  is  on  the 
side  of  the  river,  where  I  have  made  a  camp- 
kitchen,  that  I  may  take  the  fish,  dress  and  eat  it 
immediately,  and  at  the  same  time  see  the  barges 
which  ascend  and  descend  every  day  to  and  from 
Mantua,  Guastella,  or  Ponte  de  Vie  (Pontevico  ?). 
This  wood  is  carpeted  in  their  succeeding  seasons 
with  violets  and  strawberries,  inhabited  by  a  nation 
of  nightingales,  and  filled  with  game  of  all  kinds, 
excepting  deer  and  wild  boar,  the  first  being  un- 
known here,  and  not  being  large  enough  for  the 
other." 

Upon  a  subsequent  visit  to  Iseo  in  the  year 
1752,  Lady  Mary  speaks  of  the  lake  as  follows  : 
"  The  lake  itseK  is  different  from  any  other  I  ever 
saw  or  read  of,  being  of  the  colour  of  the  sea  rather 
deeply  tinged  with  green,  which  convinces  me 
that  the  surrounding  country   must  be  full  of 


"  SEBINO  "  250 

minerals,  and  it  may  be  rich  in  mines  yet  undis- 
covered, as  well  as  quarries  of  marble,  from  which 
the  houses  are  constructed,  and  even  the  streets 
are  paved,  which  are  polished  and  laid  with  art, 
and  look  like  mosaic  by  the  variety  of  colour. 
These  '  streets  '  are  very  narrow,  and  only  afford 
space  for  wheelbarrows,  and  are  nearly  two  miles 
long,  lined  by  a  mixture  of  shops,  palaces,  and 
gardens.  Some  of  the  buildings  are  already 
tumbling  down."  Lady  Mary's  own  habitation 
was  a  ramshackle  locanda  sort  of  building,  but 
the  garden  was  the  most  spacious  in  Lovere. 
She  describes  the  habits  of  Loverese  society,  and 
speaks  of  opera  being  sung,  and  other  entertain- 
ments, but  commends  the  early  hour  of  closing 
— 10  p.m.  In  the  season  there  was, — and  perhaps 
may  be  still, — a  round  of  assemblies,  whist-parties, 
and  routs,  whereat  the  gentlemen  were  accus- 
tomed to  appear  in  light-coloured  nightcaps  and 
gay  nightgowns,  whilst  the  ladies  were  in  their 
stays  and  smock  sleeves,  with  petticoats.  These 
costumes  had  a  special  name — "  /  Vestimenti  di 
Confidenza  /"  Perhaps  such  vesture  is  d  la  mode 
elsewhere  to-day  ;  so  "  honi  soit  qui  mat  y  pense  /" 
To  the  north-east  of  Lovere  runs  the  Val 
Camonica,  right  away  to  Edolo,  at  the  foot  of  the 
giant  Adamello, — with  its  mantle  of  eternal  snow, — 
and  then  on  till  it  joins  the  Tonale  Valley,  beyond 


260    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

the  boundary  of  Tirol.  The  scenery  is  wild  and 
beautiful;  peasants  are  happily  at  work  in  their 
daily  plot,  and  shepherds  pipe  and  feed  their 
flocks  serenely.  The  cry  that  goes  up  to  Heaven 
from  the  ground  is  not  the  bitter  lament  of  the 
dour  husbandry  of  Barbizon  :  it  is  the  hum  of  a 
pleasant  land.  Yet  upon  every  eminence  is  the 
ruin  of  a  castle  of  wild  days  long  past,  and  under 
the  crumbling  stones  lie  buried  deep  down,  un- 
shrouded  and  uncofifined,  the  dust  of  gaUant 
warriors  old  and  young.  Their  spirits  haunt  the 
gnarled  trunks  of  forest  -  trees,  and  their  fierce 
battle-cries  re-echo  uncannily  in  many  a  gloomy 
cavern.  "  God  rest  them  !"  cry  we  all,  and  then 
we  pass  again  into  the  sunshine  and  the  life  of  men. 
Cheek  by  jowl  with  these  dilapidated  strongholds 
are  ancient  churches  of  the  Catholic  religion  ; 
their  sweet  bells  sound  from  white,  lofty  cam- 
panili,  as  they  did  when  men  sounded  thence  the 
dreaded  tocsin. 

At  Breno  is  the  mother  church  of  the  Val 
Camonica  ;  it  and  all  the  churches  of  the  valley 
are  frescoed — many  by  Romanino,  who  chose  to 
depict  Scriptural  scenes  with  the  portraits  of  living 
people  of  the  parishes  ;  hence  the  pictorial  history 
of  the  Val  Camonica  is  of  quite  unique  interest. 
In  the  "  Life  of  the  Virgin,"  at  the  Church  of  the 
Madonna  at  Breno,  in  particular,  the  artist  has 


"  SEBINO  '*  261 

painted  "  Lords  and  Ladies  of  the  Lakes  "  attired 
and  occupied  in  their  accustomed  manners. 
Everywhere,  too,  are  scenic  exhibitions  of  the 
"  Dance  of  Death,"  and  in  every  parish  is  a 
branch  of  the  ''  Buona  Morte,''  which  numbers  its 
members,  rich  and  poor,  noble  and  simple,  indis- 
criminately. The  confraternity  is  of  Lombard 
origin,  and  was  first  established  at  the  Palazzo 
Lazzaro,  in  Milan,  in  1483. 

The  country  about  Lake  Iseo, — and  in  particular 
the  Val  Camonica, — abounds  in  quaint  customs  and 
folklore.  Peasants  still  regard  the  day  as  ended 
at  sundown,  and  the  hours  of  slumber  belong 
to  the  morrow.  When  they  lie  down  to  sleep 
they  wrap  their  great  cloaks  around  them,  much 
as  they  shroud  a  corpse  at  burial,  with  the 
commendatory  prayer  of  the  ''  Buona  Morte,''  and 
twine  their  rosaries  around  their  fingers.  When 
they  wish  to  prognosticate  the  weather,  the  chil- 
dren seek  for  snails,  and  sing  over  them  : 

"  Lumaga  hota  coregn 
CK  ei  te  ciama  quel  de  Boregn 
CK  ei  te  ciama  quei  de  Su 
Botafo  i  to  comaciu.''* 


* 


"  Oh,  sweet  little  snail  so  shy, 
Shall  the  wind  be  cold  and  dry, 
Or  moist  and  warm  shall  it  be  ? 
Sweet  snail,  show  thy  homs  to  me." 


^62    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

St.  George  is  looked  upon  as  the  patron  of  the 
nuptial  day,  and  as  many  weddings  as  possible 
are  celebrated  upon  his  April  festival.  He  shares, 
in  these  valleys  of  the  Alps,  with  St.  Christopher 
the  greatest  popularity  among  the  Christian 
Saints.  Most  of  the  country  churches  have  frescoes 
of  the  two  patrons.  At  Zave,  above  the  Lake, 
on  the  south  wall  of  the  ancient  parish  church,  is 
a  much-faded  painting,  dated  1486,  representing 
the  legendary  story  of  the  Christian  Perseus 
liberating  Andromeda,  on  the  banks  of  the  Red 
Sea,  from  a  fierce  and  hungry  dragon.  The  reptile 
is  in  the  agonies  of  death,  and  the  Christian  maiden 
appeals  to  St.  George  to  take  her  away  :  "  I  pray 
thee,  noble  youth,  take  me  up  beside  thee  on  thy 
steed,  and  let  me  flee  from  this  place."  This 
appeal  is  still  made  by  country  brides  on  the  bridal 
morn,  when  the  happy  groom  gallops  up  to  claim 
the  maiden  of  his  choice. 

Throughout  Lombardy  an  ancient  patriarchal 
custom  lingered  long,  and  is  still  observed  in  the 
remote  villages  of  the  Bergamesque  and  Brescian 
Alps.  After  the  actual  marriage  ceremony  the 
newly  wedded  pair  part  once  more,  and  each 
spends  the  first  night  in  their  respective  parents' 
home.  In  the  Valley  of  San  Martino,  indeed,  the 
bride  remains  with  her  mother  for  fifteen  days, 
but  the  groom  has  access  to  her  at  his  will.     At 


SEBINO  *♦  263 

the  end  of  this  probationary  period  he  wraps  his 
wife  in  a  great  cloak  of  skin,  and  bears  her  bodily 
away.  The  Bergamesque  and  Brescian  valley- 
dwellers  celebrate  their  marriages  with  extra- 
ordinary hospitalities.  Every  relative,  even  the 
most  distant,  within  reach  is  bidden  to  the  feast, 
and  absence  is  only  condoned  by  the  forfeiture 
of  a  considerable  gift  in  kind.  The  same  gustatory 
celebrations  mark  the  funerals  of  the  heads  of 
families,  so  that  it  is  a  common  saying  : 

^^  Ai  spusalese  e  ai  mortore 
Sa  conos  ol  parentore.^'* 

To  be  sure,  a  considerable  difference  was  ob- 
served in  the  conduct  of  the  company.  At  funerals 
bands  of  hired  mourners — women  for  the  most 
part — assembled  at  the  house  of  death,  and  ceased 
not  their  lamentations  till  the  priest  had  com- 
mitted the  corpse  to  Mother  Earth.  There  is  a 
record  at  the  hamlet  of  Gandino,  off  the  Val 
Seriana,  dated  July,  1460,  which  imposes  heavy- 
fines,  payable  to  the  Commune,  if  the  burial  is 
delayed  beyond  the  third  day.  Gandino  is  notable 
for  its  treasures  of  the  goldsmith's  craft :  the 
people  are  past  masters  in  the  artistic  manipulation 
of  the  precious  metal. 

One   reason   why   St.    Christopher's   legend   is 

*  "  No  marriages  or  funerals 

Without  the  gathering  of  relations." 


264    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

cunningly  painted  on  the  west  fronts  of  the 
churches  is  that  he  is  credited  with  the  virtue  and 
power  of  bearing  away  the  evil  of  an  unprepared 
or  sudden  death.  The  church  at  Bienno  has  a 
fresco,  painted  before  1500,  of  the  "  Christ- 
bearer,"  with  the  words :  "  Christofori  (imago) 
visaforis  mane  erit  jnimica  doloris,''  The  Saint's 
reputed  destruction  of  a  deadly  serpent  points  the 
same  story. 

On  the  festival  of  St.  John  Baptist  the  herdsmen 
of  the  Val  Camonica  offer  to  the  proprietors  of 
the  pasturages  the  first  cheeses  of  the  year.  They 
have  been  in  the  making  ever  since  St.  George's 
day,  and  are,  in  consequence,  called  '' Oiorgine.'' 
A  similar  cheese  is  presented  to  the  legal  official 
of  the  Commune  when  a  tenant  takes  up  a  fief. 
Because  farm-girls  are  much  occupied  in  the 
cheese  manufacture,  Giorgia  has  become  a  com- 
mon female  name  at  Velio,  one  of  the  loveliest 
stations  on  Lake  Iseo,  with  its  woods  of  limes  and 
chestnuts,  and  its  wealth  of  wild-flowers.  There  is 
a  curious  custom,  purely  Greek  in  origin,  of  treat- 
ing the  bark,  leaves,  and  flowers  of  limes  for  the 
alleviation  of  fistulae  and  boils.  They  soak  them 
and  knead  them  with  their  feet  into  a  pulp,  and  then, 
mixing  it  with  olive-oil,  they  spread  the  plaster  over 
the  painful  spot.  If  the  application  is  made  on  St. 
Sebastian's  Day,  the  cure  is  absolute.     The  Vel- 


THE    LADY    MARY    WORTLEY    MONTAGU 

J.   BICHARDSON 

Collection  of  the  Duke  of  Netccattle 


To  face  page  264 


"  SEBINO  "  266 

loese,  indeed,  speak  of  Iseo  as  "  Logo  Sebastio  " 
(Sebastian's  Lake),  perhaps  a  corruption  of 
*'  Sebino,"  after  all.  In  recent  days  of  simple  faith 
the  Christian  Apollo,  the  arrow-pierced  beau- 
tiful youth,  was  regarded,  at  any  rate  by  his 
women  and  girl  devotees,  as  the  gentle  succourer 
of  the  plague-stricken  and  the  wounded. 

Naturally  we  should  expect  to  find  charms  and 
divinations  against  storms  on  the  Lake  of  Iseo 
and  in  the  hills,  and  this  is  one  of  them.  The 
peasants  keep  very  carefully  the  straw  which  has 
been  used  in  the  "  Presipio,''  or  "  Bethlehem,"  of 
the  village  churches  until  the  first  day  of  Lent, 
when  it  is  burnt,  and  with  the  ashes  the  priests 
mark  the  foreheads  of  the  devout.  The  residue 
of  the  burnt  straw  is  then  mixed  with  withered 
olive-leaves,  and  cast  by  children  into  the  air  to 
avert  danger  to  their  fisher-fathers  and  brothers 
in  the  boats. 

To  the  north-west  of  Lovere  a  good  road  leads 
over  hill  and  dale,  carpeted  with  sweet  herbs  and 
wild-flowers,  to  Clusone,  in  the  Val  Seriana, — a 
delightful  name,  indeed,  from  the  same  root  as 
"  Serico  "  (silken) — the  VaUey  of  the  Serio — the 
"  Silken  Ribbon  River."  The  valley  is  famous  as 
the  home  of  artistic  workers  in  metal.  The  rich 
families  of  Lorenzoni  and  Vertova  and  many  others 
came  thence.      All  the  synonyms  of  Psyche  are 


266    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

delightful,  are  they  not  ?  The  nomenclature  of 
her  country  of  Iseo  is  fuU  of  charming  suggestive- 
ness.  Bondione  is  the  highest  village  of  the  valley  ; 
thence,  in  a  couple  of  hours,  may  be  reached 
Psyche's  waterfall — Cascato  del  Serio — leaping 
down  for  one  thousand  feet  in  three  flashing  falls 
into  a  romantic  caldron,  enclosed  by  snow-capped 
mountains.  It  is  the  most  fairy-like  waterfall  in 
Europe,  and  the  play  of  light  upon  the  spray 
reveals  the  butterfly  wings  of  the  goddess,  ever 
swaying  to  and  fro  as  she  searches  diligently  for 
her  Cupid  !  From  Clusone, — where  there  is  a  very 
remarkable  "  Dance  of  Death  "  frescoed  on  the 
waU  of  the  village  church, — it  is  but  a  short  stage 
down  the  vaUey  to  Bergamo. 


I 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  "  Lords  of  the 
Italian  Lakes "  was  the  celebrated  Condottiere 
Bartolommeo  CoUeone.  His  fearsome  name  was 
wont  to  be  called  over  refractory  youngsters  by 
worried  parents  anywhere  upon  the  marches  of 
Venetia,  what  time  the  Serene  Kepublic  dominated 
Northern  Italy.  No  more  redoubtable  soldier  of 
fortune  ever  laid  his  sword  at  the  feet  of  ambitious 
or  needy  Sovereigns  and  States,  and  no  warrior 
served  more  successfully  the  warlike  Queen  of  the 


"  SEBINO  "  267 

Adriatic.  Much  of  his  romantic  story  has  for  its 
setting  the  city  of  Bergamo  and  its  adjoinng 
country,  and,  in  particular,  the  Castle  of  Malpaga 
on  the  way  to  Treviglio. 

One  other  castle  within  striking  distance  of 
Malpaga  claims,  with  respect  to  Bartolommeo 
CoUeone,  prior  notice,  inasmuch  as  the  little  hamlet 
at  its  foot  was  the  cradle  of  his  race.  Built  up 
bit  by  bit  by  many  successive  war-lords,  the  Castle 
of  Trezzo  occupies  the  very  centre  of  historic 
battle-grounds ;  it  was  the  chief  prize  of  every 
victor  in  the  fight.  The  outlook  over  the  wide, 
fertile  plain  of  Lombardy  is  superb,  for,  perched 
upon  a  rocky  eminence  above  the  swirling  Adda, 
it  has  no  rival.  Here  Frederic  Barbarossa  placed 
his  armoury  and  war-chest  in  1158.  Hither,  too, 
Ezzelino  "  the  Terrible  "  of  Bassano,  Papal  Im- 
perial Vicar,  dragged  his'  miserable  victims  to 
mutilate  and  torture  with  unspeakable  barbarity. 
At  the  end  of  the  thirteenth  century  the  great 
nobles  of  Milan  fought  out  to  a  finish  beneath  the 
castle  walls  their  relentless  feuds,  until  the  un- 
conquerable Visconti  gained  the  mastery.  Within 
a  dungeon  of  the  keep  Giovanni  Galeazzo  im- 
prisoned his  uncle,  the  redoubtable  Bernabo,  and 
strangled  him  treacherously  in  1385.  Now  peace- 
ful owners, — the  Conti  della  Masterani, — patronize 
irrigation  and  industry,  and  the  turgid  waters  of 


268    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

the  river  no  more  run  red  with  blood  of  men,  but 
are  redolent  of  busy  crafts. 

One  of  the  towers,  now  a  heap  of  ruins — Torre 
di  CoUeone — overlooks  the  smiling  viUage  Solza, 
where,  in  the  year  1400,  Bartolommeo  first  saw 
light.  His  father,  a  plain,  honest  yeoman, — Paolo 
Colleone, — who  married  a  village  girl, — Riecardina 
Valvasori  de'  Saiguini, — looked  back  for  ancestry 
to  a  Guelph  warrior,  one  Gisilbertus  Co-Leone, — as 
the  cognomen  was  originally  spelt.  He  enrolled 
his  name  in  1101  as  a  citizen  of  Bergamo,  upon  his 
qualification  of  ownership  at  Trezzo,  Solza,  and 
Chignolo.  Bernabo  Visconti,  before  his  fall,  had 
been  a  resident  at  the  castle,  and  had  employed 
Guglielmo  Colleone,  Bartolommeo' s  grandfather, 
as  under  -  bailiff  and  confidential  agent.  He 
invited  him  to  reside  within  the  castle  precincts, 
treated  him  almost  as  an  equal,  and  then  changed 
his  mind  and  drove  him  out,  offering  him  the  choice 
of  immediate  death  or  seclusion  in  the  monastery 
of  Pontidro  in  far-distant  Val  Sabbia.  What  the 
poor  man's  offence  was  is  not  recorded — perhaps  a 
denouncer  of  treachery — anyhow,  bravi  in  the  pay  of 
Visconto  stabbed  him  to  death  within  the  cloister. 

Paolo  Colleone  naturally  resented  this  atrocity, 
but,  being  a  prudent  man,  he  held  his  peace,  and 
bided  his  time  to  revenge  his  father's  murder  ; 
and,    as    one   of    those    employed    by    Giovanni 


*'  SEBINO  '*  269 

Galeazzo  Visconti,  he  paid  Bernabo  out  in  kind. 
Giovanni  Galeazzo  died  at  Marignano  in   1402, 
and  then  his  executors  quarrelled  amongst  them- 
selves concerning  the  disposition  of  the  property, 
and  divided  it  without  regard  to  will  or  reason. 
Paolo  Colleone  put  in  a  plea  for  services  rendered 
the  defunct  Visconti,  and,  this  being  disallowed, 
he,  assisted  by  his  friends,  seized  the  Torre  di 
Colleone,  and  held  it  against  all  comers.     When 
his  comrades  asked  for  their  share  of  the  booty, 
he  declined  surrender,  and  then,  with  all  the  ease 
in  the  world,  so  characteristic  of  the  time,  they 
hung  up  their  leader  to  a  rafter  in  the  guard- 
house.    Madonna  Riccardina  found  her  husband's 
dead   body,    and    loudly   bewailed    him,   hurling 
invectives  at  his  assassins  ;   so,  with  commend- 
able despatch,  they  gagged  the  struggling  woman, 
and  locked  her  up  in  a  dark  hole  underground. 
A  child's  cry  struck  on  the  ears  of  one  of  the  con- 
spirators, and,  more  merciful  than  the  rest, — they 
would  have  cut  the  babe  in  two, — he  carried  little 
Bartolommeo  into  the  woods,  and  then  sent  him 
on  to  Bergamo  to  the  care  of  his  mother.     The 
hands  which  held  the  castle  keys  were  not  entirely 
unkind  to  the  Madonna,  for  within  a  twelvemonth 
not  only  was  she  released  from  durance  vile,  but 
her  little  boy  was  restored  to  her,  and  she  was 
allowed  to  live  in  peace  at  Solza. 


270    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

At  twelve  years  old  young  Bartolommeo  was  a 
well-grown  boy,  handsome,  strong,  and  venture- 
some. Very  much  against  his  mother's  wishes,  a 
career  was  indicated  for  him  beyond  the  bound- 
aries of  his  forebear's  misfortunes  ;  she,  perhaps 
naturally,  wished  him  to  remain  at  home — her 
only  child,  her  only  solace.  He  had  no  fancy  for 
the  grovelling  life  of  a  countryman,  nor  for  the 
studious  occupations  of  the  cloister ;  art  did  not 
affect  him.  His  fine  physique  pointed  to  the 
strenuous  profession  of  arms ;  but  for  a  lad  to 
enter  thereupon  money  was  required,  and  powerful 
influence.  It  was  obviously  impossible  for  in- 
terest to  be  made  with  the  Visconti  in  Milan. 
Bergamo,  a  city  of  craftsmen,  had  no  attractions 
for  the  budding  warrior.  At  Piacenza, — that 
most  pleasant  city  of  the  Emilia, — was  a  school  of 
servitor  boys,  about  which  the  village-folk  of  Solza 
prattled,  and  young  Bartolommeo  listened  to 
what  was  said.  Filippo  Arcelli,  Lord  of  Piacenza, 
had  just  established  a  coUege  there,  somewhat  in 
imitation  of  the  famous  School  of  Vittorino  da 
Feltre  at  Mantua,  for  healthy,  well-developed 
youths,  irrespective  of  rank  and  wealth.  The  lads 
he  accepted  were  supposed  to  be  content  not  to 
rise  much  in  the  social  scale,  but  to  qualify  as 
horsemen,  huntsmen,  keepers,  and  so  forth,  in 
noble  families.     After  much  ado.  Madonna  Riccar- 


"  SEBINO  "  271 

dina  consented  to  send  her  boy  to  Piacenza,  but  he 
never  settled  there.  He  scorned  the  society  of 
grooms  and  gardeners,  and,  fired  with  the  martial 
ardour  of  his  sires,  Bartolommeo  grasped  his  nettle 
and  ran  away. 

At  eighteen  the  ambitious  youth,  after  many 
wanderings,  found  himself  at  Naples,  the  capital 
of  the  notorious  Queen,  Giovanna  II.  He  was 
certainly  just  the  sort  of  lad  that  ill-conditioned 
Sovereign  liked  to  behold  ;  and,  discovered  by  one 
of  her  agents,  she  would  have  made  him  a  royal 
groom.  Tidings  of  the  Queen's  turpitude  were 
rife  throughout  Italy,  and  Bartolommeo  declined 
the  royal  service ;  but,  oddly  enough,  he  entered 
that  of  the  Queen's  right-hand  man,  Condottiere 
Forte  Braccio,  who  placed  him  in  his  stables. 
This,  of  course,  was  not  at  all  what  he  wanted, 
and  he  speedily  forsook  Braccio  for  his  rival 
Caldora,  and  was  by  him  placed  in  command  of 
twenty  horsemen.  Then,  with  admirable  shrewd- 
ness, Colleone  transferred  himself  to  the  following 
of  Carmagnola,  then  commander-in-chief  of  the 
Venetian  military  forces.  He  had  at  last  achieved 
his  aim  in  life — he  had  become  a  soldier  of  fortune. 
In  the  steps  of  his  leader  he  was  appointed  a 
Condottiere  in  the  service  of  the  Serene  Republic 
in  1433,  and  for  ten  years  did  doughty  deeds  on 
behalf  of  his  appreciative  masters.     Bartolommeo 

18 


272    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

Colleone's  name  was  now  laurel-wreathed ;  his 
fame  spread  far  and  wide,  and  Sovereigns  in  need 
of  pushful  captains  plied  him  with  offers  and  with 
bribes.  Among  these  was  the  Duke  of  Milan, 
Filippo  Maria  Viseonti,  and  the  young  Condottiere 
closed  at  once  with  his  proposal.  By  the  stiffness 
of  his  terms  and  conditions,  he  wiped  away  for 
ever  the  stain  of  his  ancestors'  murders,  and 
struck  an  even  balance  with  their  murderer's  suc- 
cessor. The  Duke  gave  him  castles  and  estates, 
and  a  splendid  pension  with  which  to  keep  up  his 
state  ;  but,  in  1450,  Bartolommeo  Colleone  retired 
from  the  active  profession  of  arms. 

The  Castle  of  Malpaga  was  the  property  of  the 
Serene  Republic,  and  upon  it  and  its  lordship  the 
Condottiere  fixed  his  gaze,  until,  for  the  good  round 
sum  of  one  thousand  gold  ducats,  he  became  its 
owner,  the  actual  sale  being  effected  April  29, 
1456.  "The  castle," — so  Martino  Sanudo,  the 
reliable  Venetian  historian,  has  recorded, — "  was 
occupied  in  the  name  of  Venice  by  the  Captain- 
General  of  Bergamo  with  a  force  of  one  hundred 
horsemen,  who  made  a  brave  show  against  the 
Duke  of  Milan." 

Colleone  set  to  work  at  once  to  occupy  his 
property ;  the  castle  he  practically  rebuilt,  re- 
decorated and  furnished  it,  and  gave  his  attention 
to  the  picturesque  arrangements  of  the  gardens. 


"  SEBINO  "  273 

When  the  improvements  were  completed,  he 
brought  home,  festal-like,  his  dear  wife,  Madonna 
Thisbe,  and  his  beloved  daughters,  Ursina,  Cater- 
ina,  and  Medea.  The  whole  countryside  rejoiced 
in  the  Condottiere's  happiness  ;  his  father's  com- 
rades and  his  mother's  friends  now  became  his 
own,  and  humble  little  Solza  was  proud  and 
demonstrative. 

Well  might  his  neighbours  be  proud  of  their 
distinguished  fellow-countrymen,  for  he  raised 
them  all  by  example,  precept,  and  patronage,  till 
every  family  felt  the  impress  of  his  strong  person- 
ality. Schools  were  opened  for  the  instruction 
of  young  people,  very  much  after  the  manner  of 
that  at  Piacenza,  and  Colleone  took  good  heed  to 
the  morals  of  his  pupils.  The  military  training  of 
young  men  had  the  Condottiere's  solicitude.  From 
the  borders  of  the  Lake  of  Iseo  and  the  valleys 
north  of  Bergamo  came  stalwart  sons  of  the  soil 
to  learn  the  profession  of  arms.  The  curriculum 
was  strenuous,  for,  not  only  were  his  soldiers  busy 
in  their  drill,  but  athletic  contests  were  made 
compulsory.  The  strongest  men  in  Lombardy 
wore  the  Colleone  colours.  No  other  property  was 
so  fully  developed  as  Malpaga.  Works  of  irriga- 
tion brought  the  waters  of  the  Serio  to  the  castle 
walls.  No  cattle-rearing  or  game-preserving  had 
such  excellent  results  as  were  achieved  under  the 


274    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

Condottiere's  direction.  In  short,  Malpaga  and  its 
surroundings  became  a  model  for  all  the  other 
landowners  of  Lombardy. 

Princely  state  was  kept  up  at  the  castle,  which 
became  famous  as  the  most  perfect  example  of 
a  feudal  castle  of  the  century.  CoUeone's  house- 
hold and  garrison  were  picked  representatives  of 
physical  fitness  and  graceful  deportment ;  six 
hundred  men  sat  daily  at  his  lordly  table,  and 
strangers  of  every  rank  and  station  were  enter- 
tained with  unstinted  hospitality.  CoUeone  sur- 
rounded himself  with  men  of  letters  and  women 
of  briUiant  wit.  Yet,  in  the  midst  of  great 
activities,  which  caused  Madonna  Thisbe  endless 
anxieties,  the  master  of  the  castle  lived  a  compara- 
tively quiet  life.  He  cared  less  for  talk  than  for 
books,  but  he  was  ever  ready  with  smart  repartee. 
When  asked  with  surprise  by  one  of  his  prince- 
guests,  why  he  troubled  himself  so  much  for  others' 
weal,  and  patronized  festive  revels,  and  especially 
favoured  attractive  women,  he  replied  :  "I  am 
much  more  surprised  that  so  young  a  man  as  your 
Excellency  should  ask  such  a  question,  and  that 
you  should  apparently  be  overcome  with  hatred 
of  the  fair  sex ;  as  for  me,  I  love  them  all !" 
Probably  woman  was  the  Condottiere's  special 
weakness ;  he  craved  a  male  heir,  and  Madonna 
Thisbe  only  gave  him  daughters. 


"  SEBINO  "  275 

The  most  interesting  guest  entertained  by  Con- 
dottiere  Bartolommeo  Colleone  at  Malpaga  was 
Kling  Christian  I.  He  had  been  to  Rome  upon  a 
pilgrimage  "  for  the  good  of  his  soul,  and  in  propitia- 
tion for  the  sins  of  his  ancestors,"  as  the  chronicler 
has  it.  King  of  all  Scandinavia,  and  bearing  a 
host  of  sovereign  titles,  he  was  accompanied  by  an 
imposing  suite — the  Dukes  of  Lauenberg  and 
Olten,  the  Counts  of  Milligen,  Barby,  and  Hiiffen- 
stein,  and  many  more  nobles.  At  Treviso,  upon 
his  Romeward  journey,  a  mission  from  Duke  Gal- 
eazzo  Maria  Sforza  had  saluted  the  King,  and 
offered  him  Milanese  hospitality  ;  but  Christian 
was  bent  on  visiting  the  most  famous  soldier  of 
the  day,  and  the  Duke  was  mightily  displeased  at 
His  Majesty's  preference  of  Colleone. 

The  Condottiere,  courtier-like,  assigned  Malpaga 
to  his  royal  guest,  and  went  under  canvas  with  his 
household.  He  laid  out  a  camp  as  in  time  of  war 
with  stockade,  ditches,  stores,  and  munitions,  and 
received  King  Christian  on  May  12,  1474,  in  full 
battle  array,  with  one  thousand  mounted  men 
cuirassed,  and  one  thousand  highlanders  on  foot — 
a  moving  and  splendid  spectacle.  Banquets, 
tournaments,  sports,  and  dances  formed  each  day's 
programme,  and  Scandinavians  and  Lombards 
became  the  best  of  comrades — true  and  free. 

In  the  royal  suite  travelled  a  gigantic  Dacian, — 


276    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

''  the  strongest  man  on  earth," — the  King's  cham- 
pion. Bout  after  bout,  wherever  the  royal  caval- 
cade had  halted,  had  proved  him  invincible  ;  and 
the  Condottiere's  athletes  fared  no  better  than  the 
rest.  One  day,  however,  the  Dacian  found  his 
match  at  Malpaga,  when  a  young  man  came  to 
parley  with  the  guard.  Zorzio  da  Spinone, — a 
mountain  village  in  the  Val  Cavallina  beyond 
Bergamo, — twenty-five  years  of  age,  and  a  perfect 
young  Hercules,  who  followed  the  calling  of  a 
charcoal-burner,  challenged  the  champion  to  a 
wrestling  match.  CoUeone  was  informed  of  the 
young  fellow's  intention,  interviewed  him,  and, 
struck  with  his  splendid  physique,  ordered  him  to 
be  fed,  and  washed,  and  shaved,  and  clothed 
suitably.  "  Go  forth,"  he  said  to  Zorzio,  "  with 
courage  ;  fear  not,  and  if  thou  bearest  thyself  well, 
thou  shalt  receive  a  finer  prize  than  thou  canst 
name,  for  I  will  not  that  we  should  be  brow-beaten 
by  this  bold  Dacian  !"  The  champion  duly  entered 
the  sports  ground  of  the  castle,  and  the  whole 
garrison  with  their  visitors  foregathered  to  cheer 
their  men.  The  young  charcoal-burner  success- 
fully parried  the  giant's  feints,  and,  when  he  was  a 
little  winded,  deftly  seized  him  under  the  haunches, 
and  had  him  in  a  trice  upon  his  head,  his  feet  in 
the  air,  and  then  he  laid  him  flat  upon  the  sward  ! 
Thunderous  applause  greeted  this  achievement, 


"  SEBINOj"  277 

and  King  Christian,  shaking'^the  victor  by  the 
hand, — with  true  sportsman  spirit, — gave  him  a 
ring  from  off  his  finger,  and  a  heavy  purse  of  gold* 
Colleone  was  as  good  as  his  word,  and  Zorzio  re- 
mained at  Malpaga  as  standard-bearer  and  chief 
of  the  bodyguard.  As  might  have  been  expected, 
the  victory  of  the  Lombard  lad  was  not  without 
its  romance.  Some  few  days  after  the  victory  in 
the  sports  ground  another  stranger  advanced  to 
parley  with  the  castle  guard,  but  this  time  it  was 
a  maiden  shy,  but  by  no  means  forlorn.  Berta  da 
Trescore,  the  next  village  to  La  Spinone,  had 
followed  her  man  to  Malpaga  -for  he  had  told  her 
what  he  had  heard  about  King  Christian's  Dacian 
strong  man.  She  was  just  the  sort  of  comely 
damsel — wholesome,  smart,  and  vigorous — that 
appealed  to  the  maiden-loving  Condottiere,  and 
Colleone  entered  at  once  into  the  romance.  He 
dallied  with  her,  as  was  his  wont,  but  the  girl's 
spirit  and  devotion  to  her  village  lover  arrested 
further  liberties  ;  and,  with  Medea,  his  daughter, 
as  bridesmaid,  and  himself  in  loco  parentis^  Zorzio 
and  Berta  were  joined  in  matrimony  upon  the 
spot  ! 

King  Christian  remained  at  Malpaga  ten  days ; 
and,  on  parting  with  his  host,  he  gave  him  a 
splendid  painting  he  had  purchased  in  Rome,  and 
graciously    accepted    as    CoUeone's    offering    the 


278    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

finest  suit  of  Milanese  armour  in  the  castle. 
Accompanied  by  the  Condottiere,  the  King  and  his 
escort  reached  the  city  of  Como  on  May  23,  and 
there  he  found  a  fleet  of  roomy  vessels,  chartered 
by  the  Duke  of  Milan,  ready  to  carry  him  to 
Colico.  The  King's  barge  had  a  lofty  tent  or 
awning  of  cloth  of  gold  ;  its  crew  was  liveried  in 
scarlet  cloth,  and  rowed  with  gilded  oars.  Four 
troubadours  and  a  band  of  musicians,  with  the 
royal  cooks  and  butlers,  were  in  the  next  vessel, 
ready  to  feed  and  cheer  the  royal  sailor  and  his 
suite.  Such  a  splendid  flotilla  had  never  passed 
up  the  lake.  The  citizens  of  Como  and  the  fisher- 
folks  and  peasants  on  the  shores  lavished  festive 
decorations  and  illuminations  in  honour  of  the 
royal  "  Lord  of  the  Lake,"  and  so  the  Scandinavian 
"  pilgrims  "  hasted  on  to  their  far-off  home,  intoxi- 
cated with  the  delights  of  Lombardy. 

Bartolommeo  Colleone  paid  his  adieux  to  King 
Christian  at  the  quay  of  Como,  and  then  returned 
to  his  Castle  of  Malpaga  for  rest,  and  to  carry  on 
his  works  of  benevolence.  Madonna  Thisbe,  too, 
was  weary  after  aU  the  gaiety  and  ceremonial ; 
she  missed  the  help  of  her  two  married  daughters, 
Ursina  and  Caterina.  The  former  was  wife  of 
Count  Gherardo  Martinengo ;  the  latter  of  higi 
brother.  Count  Gaspare — both  of  Brescia.  The 
two  Countesses  were,  it  seems,  prevented  from 


"  SEBINO  "  279 

journeying  to  Malpaga  for  the  royal  visit  by 
reason  of  coincident  maternity.  Isotta,  the  eldest 
daughter,  had  died  in  infancy  ;  and  Medea,  the 
youngest,  died  four  years  after  the  coming  of  the 
King.  Both  were  buried  in  the  sanctuary  church 
of  Basella,  upon  an  eminence  across  the  Serio. 

In  the  very  midst  of  his  humane  occupations 
the  sands  in  the  Condottiere's  hour-glass  ran  down, 
and,  fearing  the  approach  of  the  "  Black  Buffa- 
loes," he  prepared  himself  for  their  "Triumph." 
On  October  27,  1475,  he  executed  his  will,  leaving 
the  Castle  of  Malpaga  and  the  estate  to  his  eldest 
daughter  Ursina  and  her  family,  on  the  under- 
standing that  Count  Gherardo  should  add  the 
patronymic  CoUeone  to  his  surname.  On  Novem- 
ber 3  in  the  same  year  the  redoubtable  warrior, — 
truly  a  noble-hearted  "  Lord  of  the  Lakes," — 
breathed  his  last  in  his  well-beloved  castle.  He 
was  buried  at  Bergamo,  in  the  very  beautiful 
Capella  Colleone,  by  the  side  of  the  Romanesque 
church  of  Santa  Maria  Maggiore,  which  he  had 
caused  to  be  built.  A  superb  monument  was 
erected  by  his  daughters  and  their  husbands,  and 
then  Medea  Colleone' s  monument  was  removed 
thither  from  Basella.  The  chapel,  with  its  lavish 
adornment  inside  and  out,  is  one  of  the  architec- 
tural gems  of  the  fifteenth  century. 

Many  years  after  the  Condottiere's  death  another 


280    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

memorial  of  a  striking  character  was  completed 
within  the  Castle  of  Malpaga.  Girolamo  Roma- 
nino  was  commissioned  to  fresco  the  walls  of  the 
banqueting-room  of  the  castle  with  scenes  from 
the  memorable  visit  of  King  Christian  of  Scan- 
dinavia. The  first  shows  the  arrival  of  the  royal 
visitor  at  Malpaga,  and  it  is  interesting  from  the 
fact  that  the  likeness  of  the  Condottiere's  eldest 
grandchild,  Bartolommeo  Martinengo,  is  intro- 
duced. The  second  scene  is  a  tournament,  with 
the  city  of  Bergamo  in  the  distance.  The  King 
and  the  Condottiere  are  seated  in  a  loggia,  apart 
from  Madonna  Thisbe  and  her  ladies.  The  third 
fresco  is  a  royal  hunting-party  in  the  wooded 
country  bordering  the  Serio  :  the  huntsmen  are  in 
Colleone  liveries.  The  Banquet  is,  perhaps,  the 
most  striking  of  the  series.  The  King  presides, 
but  the  host  is  placed  below  the  salt-cellar  ! 
Colleone' s  seneschal,  Alberto  de'  Quarenghi,  is  by 
his  side.  A  lady  in  blue  and  white, — the  Colleone 
colours, — is  the  Countess  Ursina,  with  her  little 
son.  Prince  Johann  of  Saxony  wears  a  big 
plumed  hat.  The  fifth  tableau  represents  the 
Condottiere  seated  at  table  in  the  open  cortile  of 
the  castle,  superintending  the  serving  out  of 
liveries  and  gifts  to  the  King's  attendants.  The 
sixth  picture  shows  the  departure  of  King  Chris- 
tian, and  among  the  notables  is  Colleone's  state- 


:^    o    ^ 


"  SEBINO  "  281 

trumpeter,  Lorenzo  della  Scarperia.  The  last 
fresco  depicts  a  wrestling  match, — perhaps  that 
between  the  Dacian  champion  and  Zorzio  da 
Spinone.  The  series  is  exceedingly  valuable,  as 
illustrative  of  the  dress  and  manners,  and  of  the 
scenery  and  architecture  of  the  period.  Romanino 
was  not  bom  until  ten  years  after  King  Christian's 
visit,  but  tales  of  the  gorgeous  festivities  were 
rife  on  the  countryside  for  several  generations. 
Doubtless  the  Counts  and  Countesses  Martinengo- 
Colleone  were  able  to  give  the  master  full  par- 
ticulars of  the  scenes,  and  perhaps  to  reconstruct 
them  for  his  benefit. 

The  Castle  of  Malpaga  remained  in  the  possession 
of  the  Martinenghi  family  until  1888,  when  it  was 
sold,  with  the  estate,  to  Conte  Francesco  Roncalli, 
who  most  carefully  restored  it. 

There  is  a  little  story  connected  with  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Malpaga,  which  characteristically 
illustrates  the  simple  and  unquestioning  religious 
fervour  of  the  men  and  women  of  the  fourteenth 
century.  It  is  as  follows  :  April  7,  1356,  was  a 
dark  day  in  the  annals  of  Lombardy  by  reason  of 
the  severe  belated  frost  which  devastated  the 
province,  and  was,  perhaps,  most  destructive 
throughout  the  plain  of  Bergamo.  Early  in  the 
morning  of  that  day  a  young  girl,  Marina,  the 
fifteen-year-old    daughter    of    Pietro    Leone,    a 


282    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

peasant  farmer  of  the  Borgo  di  Urgnano,  saUied 
forth  to  her  daily  task  in  the  flax-fields.  To  her 
intense  surprise  she  found  the  whole  crop  black- 
ened and  hopelessly  withered.  Knowing  that  this 
meant  an  irreparable  loss  to  her  father,  she  burst 
into  tears,  and,  falling  upon  her  knees,  cried  out 
piteously  :  "  Holy  Virgin,  why  is  this  ?  Why  has 
thy  Son  sent  this  affliction  to  my  parents  ?" 
Then  she  cast  her  eyes  across  a  stubble-field  hard 
by,  and  beheld  an  amazing  vision — a  lovely  regal 
woman,  gorgeously  apparelled,  with  a  little  child 
in  her  arms.  Marina  knelt  and  crossed  herself 
devoutly,  and  then  a  voice  spoke  to  her  in  the 
sweetest  accents  she  had  ever  heard  : 

"  Do  not  be  afraid,  child  ;  why  art  thou  weeping 
and  lamenting  ?" 

"  Do  you  not  see,  noble  lady,"  replied  the  girl, 
"  what  terrible  damage  the  cruel  frost  has  done  ? 
and  do  you  not  reflect  hoAv  terribly  poor  people 
will  suffer  in  consequence  ?" 

"  Fear  not,  child,"  the  sweet  voice  replied ; 
"  none  shall  suffer  want  for  this  ;  there  shall  be 
an  abundant  harvest." 

Marina,  less  fearful  than  at  first,  asked  the  lady 
who  she  was.  The  lovely  woman  told  her  not, 
but  said  :  "  Come  again  to  this  spot  in  nine  days, 
at  this  hour,  and  I  will  then  tell  thee  all;"  and 
then  she  vanished. 


"  SEBINO  "  283 

Upon  the  ninth  day — it  was  April  16,  and  the 
girl's  sixteenth  birthday — she  was  again  at  the 
hallowed  spot,  and  the  beauteous  vision  was  again 
vouchsafed  to  her. 

"  Thou  hast  done  well,"  the  voice  said,  "  to 
come  here  to-day.  Thou  art  on  the  verge  of 
womanhood,  but  I  conjure  thee  to  keep  thyself  a 
virgin,  such  as  I  am.  Gro,  tell  the  men  of  Urgnano 
to  dig  deep  here, — see,  there  are  three  flat  stones  to 
mark  the  spot, — and  they  will  find  a  buried  church, 
which  they  must  excavate,  repair,  and  re-dedicate. 
The  priest  must  be  newly  ordained,  and  he  must 
say  his  first  Mass  at  the  altar  interceding  for  souls 
who  lost  their  lives  in  the  long-ago  earthquake." 

That  was  all ;  the  vision  passed  away,  but 
Marina  knew  it  was  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary  who 
had  so  miraculously  revealed  herself  and  her 
wishes.  Marina  told  her  father,  but  he  made  fun 
of  her  story  ;  nevertheless,  it  fascinated  him  and 
the  men  of  the  parish,  and  everyone  lent  a  willing 
hand  to  lay  bare  the  engulfed  sacred  edifice. 
Saint  Mary's  commands  were  exactly  carried  out, 
and  not  alone  were  the  ruins  of  the  ancient 
Christian  basilica  discovered  and  repaired,  but  the 
miracle  drew  thereto  scores  and  scores  of  pious 
pilgrims.  Bartolommeo  Colleone  caused  the  church 
to  be  richly  decorated,  and  named  it  *'  Santa  Maria 
della  Basella  " — the  vernacular  for  "  Earthquake." 


284    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

III. 

Bergamo  and  Brescia  are  twin  sisters,  and  the 
Brescian  Alps  are  own  brothers  of  the  Bergam- 
esque.  Alike,  too,  in  number  and  in  charm  are 
the  verdant  valleys  that  debouch  at  their  gates : 
Brembana,  Seriana,  and  Cavallina  salute  Bergamo ; 
Brescia  is  embraced  by  Camonica,  Trompia,  and 
Sabbio.  Val  Brembana  is  famous  in  the  history 
of  art ;  from  out  of  it  sprang  a  phalanx  of  artists 
to  enrich  mankind  for  good  with  things  of  beauty 
and  renown :  Bernardino  Licinio  (1511-1544)  ; 
Andrea  Previtale  (1480-1525)  ;  Rocco  Marconi 
(1472-1529) ;  Antonio  Donati  (1502-1568)  ;  Andrea 
da  Solario  (1460-1515) ;  Agliardo  Algiardi  (1592- 
1654)  ;  Lorenzo  Lotto  (1480-1556) ;  Francesco 
Capodeferro  (1472-1532);  Giovanni  BeUi  (1540- 
1577);  Gian  Antonio  Amadeo  (1421-1476);  the 
brothers  Santa  Croce, — Girolamo  (1520-1549)  and 
Francesco  Rizo  (1524-1562) ;  Giovanni  de'  Busi 
"  Cariani  "  (1485-1541)  ;  and,  last,  but  not  least, 
Jacopo  Palma  Negretto — Palma  il  Vecchio,  (1480- 
1525). 

Specimens  of  art  and  craft  in  street,  church, 
and  gallery  of  every  Italian  town  testify  to  the 
excellent  handiwork  of  sons  and  daughters  of  the 
Val  Brembrana.  It  might  be  an  interesting  occu- 
pation to  inquire  why  in  particular  this  lovely 


"  SEBINO  "  285 

valley  should  be  the  cradle  of  art.     Man's  capa- 
cities are  developed  by  his  environment,  and  in 
the  pursuit  of  healthy  avocations.      First  of  all, 
the  scenery  is  exquisitely  beautiful   and  greatly 
diversified.      From  the  sun-fretted  plain  of  Lom- 
bardy  beyond  Bergamo  up  to  the  Falls  of   the 
Brembo,  bursting  out  of  the  snow-fields  of  the  Val 
Tellina  mountains,  every  kind  of  climate  may  be  en- 
joyed.    The  air  is  never  stagnant,  the  sun  makes 
lavish  growth,  and  the  water  is  impregnated  with 
salt.     The  occupations  of  the  peasants  are  various, 
but  there  are  four  industries  which  absorb  the  ma- 
jority of  workers — sheep-pasturing,  copper-mining, 
charcoal-burning,   and  linen-weaving.     All  these 
tend  to  the  isolation  of  labourers,  and  solitude  is 
provocative  of  meditation  and  invention.     Per- 
haps all  the  army  of  Brembana  artists  had  flat 
stones,  soft  clay,  and  prime  wood  upon  which  to 
experiment,    much    as   had    Giotto    of   Tuscany. 
Anyhow,  there  is  not  a  family  in  the  whole  length 
of  the  valley,  and  along  the  converging  valleys, 
which  has  not  exhibited  in  the  present  or  the  past 
artistic    temperament.     These    families,    by    the 
way,    are   abnormally   numerous,    and   sons   and 
daughters  drift  to  the  art  cities  of  the  plain  and 
beyond.     Nature's    best    gifts    are    for    Nature's 
most  simple  and  unaffected  offspring.     The  Brem- 
banese  display  their  artistic  proclivities  in  a  hun- 


286    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

dred  different  ways — their  carriage,  their  dress, 
their  household  goods,  their  instruments  of 
melody  and  labour,  their  love  of  flowers  and  per- 
fumes, their  skill  in  games,  their  popular  festivals, 
and  all  they  put  their  hands  to  proclaim  them 
subjects  of  the  realm  of  art. 

Jacopo  Palma  Negretto  is  the  Prince  of  Ber- 
gamesque  painters.  His  natal  place  was  the 
secluded  village  of  Serina-Alta,  three  thousand  feet 
above  the  sea,  in  the  valley  of  the  same  name, 
which  converges  upon  the  Val  Brembana  at  Zogno. 
He  first  breathed  that  delicious  mountain  air, 
say,  in  April,  1480,  the  son  of  Antonio  de'  Negretti. 
No  one  has  painted  the  blue  mountains  of  those 
valleys  more  intimately  than  did  he.  "  Sacred 
Conversations  "  were  much  in  his  way — groups  of 
finely  proportioned,  noble-visaged  Saints  in  flowery 
meadows — ideal  and  sensuous.  In  portraiture, 
— ^for  his  "  Saints  "  are  living  entities, — he  is  Ber- 
gamesque ;  one  may  even  think  one  hears  the 
country  "  burr,"  for  they  are  "  speaking  like- 
nesses." One  grand  model  in  particular  strikes  the 
eye  and  the  imagination  ;  she  is  the  most  splendid 
and  grandiose  woman  in  Italian  art.  Her  veri- 
similitude culminates  in  the  grand  "  St.  Bar- 
bara "  in  the  church  of  Santa  Maria  Formosa  in 
Venice.  Who  is  she  ?  For  answer  we  must  seek 
again  the  Brembo's  banks,  and  look  among  the 


YOLANDA    DA    SERINA 

PALMA   VECCHIO    (OR   PARIS   BORDONE  ?) 
Prado  Museum,  Madrid 


To  face  page  286 


"  SEBINO  "  287 

maidens  of  the  hills  and  dales.  Lithesome,  grace- 
ful, with  perfect  figures  and  distinguished  car- 
riage, those  damsels  of  the  goat-herds  and  woollen 
distaffs,  bearers  of  heavy  agrestical  burdens  on 
their  heads,  breathe  the  free,  exhilarating  air  of 
the  mountain  and  the  forest — equal  partners  with 
the  men  in  toil  and  play.  Yolanda  da  Serina  was 
such  an  one  ;  and  when  painters  of  the  valley 
sought  for  models,  none  surpassed  her  in  physique 
and  bearing.  Whether  she  was  Jacopo  Palma's 
daughter  or  not,  we  shall  never  know, — for  he  was 
never  married, — but  we  know  she  was  his  most 
attractive  model,  and  upon  her  his  fame  was  built. 
With  Jacopo  she  went  to  Venice,  and  his  studio 
was  her  home.  There  Vecellio  Tiziano  beheld  her, 
and  noted  how  she  easily  surpassed  the  drab  girls 
of  his  native  Cadore  in  every  charm  of  virginity. 
To  paint  her  was  his  strong  desire  ;  to  love  her, 
too,  need  not  perhaps  be  said.  At  any  rate, 
Yolanda' s  attributes  were  transcendent,  and 
henceforth  the  two  great  painter  -  friends  made 
complacent  Yolanda's  life  a  burden  ;  they  painted 
no  woman  else.  "  La  Bella  "  may  be  Titian's  ; 
it  may  be  Palma's  too.  She  had  all  the  personal 
charms  loved  of  Venetian  painters — a  distinguished 
air,  fair  hair  and  skin,  blue  eyes,  and  a  supple  figure. 
Was  not  Yolanda  "  The  Virgin  "  of  that  masterpiece, 
"  The  Assumption,"  in  the  Academy  at  Venice  ? 

19 


288    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

All  the  painters  in  Venice  admired  and  loved 
Yolanda,  and  many  a  suitor  sought  her  favour — 
among  them  no  less  distinguished  a  person  than 
Pietro  Aretino.  She  turned  a  deaf  ear  to  them 
all,  remained  true  to  Jacopo  Palma,  and,  when  he 
died,  she  quietly  returned  with  her  few  belongings 
to  the  peace  and  contentment  of  her  native  valley. 
If  the  chronicler  lies  not,  she  married  a  good- 
looking  countryman,  a  boy-lover,  and  lived  happily. 
Strange,  indeed,  it  was  that  "  il  Vecchio's  "  will 
never  so  much  as  named  Yolanda  ;  perhaps  all  his 
was  hers.     Who  knows  ? 

One  other  painter  there  was  among  the  many 
who  issued  from  that  rich  source  of  artists,  Val 
Brembana,  whose  name  is  held  in  high  esteem  in 
Lombardy,  not  only  for  his  artistic  merit,  but  for 
his  ardent  patriotism — a  gift,  alas  !  so  rare  now- 
adays among  the  self-seeking  inhabitants  of  the 
United  Kingdom.  Giovanni  de'  Busi  was  bom 
at  the  forest  hamlet  of  Fiupiano,  beyond  San 
Pellegrino,  in  1480.  The  name  "  Cariani,"  by 
which  he  is  generally  known,  betokens  that  of  his 
mother's  family.  She  was  a  forest  maiden,  mind- 
ing her  goats  and  spinning,  what  time  Giovanni 
de'  Busi,  a  young  patrician  of  Venice,  fared  to 
Bergamo  and  beyond  to  find  pastime  and  for- 
tune. An  accident  brought  the  two  together. 
A  bear  had  mauled  the  valiant  sportsman  and 


"  SEBINO  "  289 

left  him  wounded  in  the  woodland.  As  Fate  would 
have  it,  a  comely  damsel  happened  on  him,  nursed 
him,  and  loved  him — Bettina  Cariani.  Alas  ! 
Bettina  saw  no  more  of  her  lover,  but  Giovanni 
had  not  forgotten  her,  and  when  she  died  "  Giovan- 
nino  "  joined  his  father  in  Venice — a  growing  lad, 
full  of  artistic  sympathies  and  poetry. 

In  Venice  three  famous  masters  appealed  to  the 
budding  painter,  Giorgio  Barbarelli  (Giorgione), 
Jacopo  Negretto  (Palma  il  Vecchio),  and  Lorenzo 
Lotto  ;  the  two  last  being  natives,  like  himself, 
of  the  Val  Brembana.  With  them  he  worked  and 
studied  till,  at  the  age  of  twenty-two,  love  of  his 
mother's  home  overpowered  him,  and  back  he 
went  to  Bergamo  and  Fiupiano,  to  paint  the  land- 
scapes he  remembered  so  well,  and  the  people  he 
loved,  with  their  costumes  and  occupations.  In 
all  his  religious  compositions  may  be  seen  a  lady 
— a  Saint — of  noble  appearance,  richly  dressed 
and  wearing  abundant  golden  hair,  her  pure  face 
fair  as  a  blush-rose.  Sometimes  she  holds  the 
bridle  of  a  white  horse.  Tradition  has  pointed 
her  out  as  Yolanda  da  Serina :  Cariani  was  in 
love  with  her,  too  ! 

Perhaps  with  Cariani  should  be  named  his  con- 
temporary of  Brescia,  Girolamo  Romanino,  of 
the  same  age  as  himself,  a  native  of  Romano,  on 
the  Serio,  some  ten  miles  east  of  Treviglio.     They 


290    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

worked  together,  and  among  their  paintings  in 
common    are   the   characteristic    frescoes   of   the 
Castle   of   Malpaga.     There   is    a   certain    air   of 
romance  about  an  altar-piece  Cariani  painted  for 
the  Benedictine  monks  of  Santa  Giustina  at  Padua. 
Alessandro  Bonvicino  (Moretto)  painted  a  similar 
picture  for  the  same  complacent  patrons.  Whether 
the  painting  at  the  Imperial  Museum  at  Vienna 
is  Bonvicino's,  or  Romanino's,  or  Palmo  Vecchio's, 
critics  have  not  yet  determined.     Anyhow,  here 
we   have   once   more   the   striking   traits   of  the 
splendid  model  of  the  "  Santa  Barbara,"  Yolanda. 
One  of  the  most  picturesque  and  at  the  same  time 
most  ancient  villages  in  Val  Brembana  is  Botta. 
High  above  the  road  stands  the  quaint  old  Church 
of    Sant'    Egidio — the    patron    of    smiths    and, 
preferentially  here,  of  coppersmiths  and   copper- 
miners.     Bishop  Guala  di  Bergamo,  a  native  of 
the  hamlet,  in  1178  set  up  ten  tableaux  or  groups 
of  the  Passion  of  Christ  upon  the  approach  to  the 
church — one  of  the  oldest  mountain  "  Stations  of 
the  Cross  "  in  Christendom.     He  also  instituted 
the  quasi-Jewish  custom  of  the  offering  of  a  lamb 
by  each  sheep-owner  at  Easter  to  the  high  altar. 
Such  offering  gained  the  promise  of  a  prosperous 
year,  and  gave  rise  to  the  common  Bergamesque 
proverb  :  ''  Al  mior  piu  agnei  a  Pasqua  che  pegore 
en  tutt  V  an,'' — He  who  presents  a  lamb  at  Easter 


"  SEBINO  "  291 

shall  have  food  enough  for  a  twelvemonth. 
What  became  of  the  bleating  baby  creatures  no 
one  has  been  careful  to  record ;  perhaps  the 
worldly  wise  ecclesiastics  kept  them  for  their 
own  larder,  or  perhaps, — as  in  the  parish  of  Sant' 
Alessandro  della  Croce,  in  the  thirteenth  century, 
— they  were  distributed  amongst  the  poor  families 
of  the  neighbourhood. 

At  Comello,  beyond  the  Electric  Zinc  Foundry, 
is  a  tablet  in  a  house  wall :  it  records  the  ancestral 
home  of  a  notable  Brembanese  family — the  Tassi. 
Omedeo  de'  Tassi,  in  1290,  first  made  the  name 
famous  as  the  forbear  of  the  Princes  of  Thurn  und 
Taxis,  founders  of  the  post  service  of  Germany. 
Bernardo  and  Torquato  Tasso, — "  Lords  of  the 
Lakes," — greatly  added  to  the  family  renown,  and 
made  the  Val  Brembana  a  poet's  Mecca.  They 
were  not  the  only  poetasters  who  came  of  the 
valley  soil.  Poets,  we  know,  are  rarely  town- 
bred  :  the  country  is  their  home,  and  the  more 
beautiful  the  scenery,  the  more  exquisite  their 
poetry.  Nevertheless,  it  is  rather  singular  that 
the  dulcet  tones  of  song  should  emanate  from  a 
district  where  the  dialect  of  the  inhabitants  is 
crude  and  uncouth.  The  Bergamesque  verna- 
cular is  as  remarkable  for  its  "burr  "  as  is,  say, 
the  Zulu  for  its  "  cluck."  Torquato' s  great 
work,  '*  Gerusalemme  Liherata,'''  was  actually  first 


292    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

written  in  the  dialect  of  the  Val  Brembana  ! 
Signore  Bernardo  Tasso,  the  great  poet's  father, 
had  a  small  estate  near  Comello,  and  was  also 
enrolled  as  a  citizen  of  Bergamo.  He  left  home  to 
seek  his  fortune  elsewhere,  and  wandered  to  dis- 
tant Naples,  where  he  met  and  married  Portia 
Gherardini.  He  lost  his  fortune  in  the  disasters  of 
the  Prince  of  Salerno,  in  whose  service  he  was, 
and  Torquato,  bom  at  Sorrento,  March  11,  1544, 
was  the  child  of  adversity. 

"...  I  am  content, 
Thyrsis,  to  tell  thee  what  the  woods  and  hills 
And  rivers  know,  but  men  as  yet  know  not." 

This  breathes  the  sweet  air  and  rhythm  of  the 
Val  Brembana.  Count  Alessandro  Tasso,  the  poet's 
cousin,  of  Bergamo,  sent  a  post-chaise  all  the  way 
to  Mantua  to  fetch  him  home.  His  welcome  in 
the  city,  and  all  the  way  to  Comello,  was  triumph  ; 
the  street  through  which  he  passed  is  still  called 
Via  di  Torquato  Tasso.  The  "  Aminta  "  was  the 
poet's  record  of  his  Iseoan  appreciation — the 
precursor  of  the  sweet  songs  of  sylvan  poetry. 

"  The  dales  for  shade,  the  hills  for  beauty  glow, 
Past  fragrant  groves  the  crystal  rivers  flow, 
All  fair  scenes  doth  Dame  Nature  grace, 
My  heart's  in  my  sire's  native  place." 

Poet  by  heredity,  he  loved  his  ancestral  soil. 
The   people   of   Bergamo, — where   nobles    and 


"  SEBINO  "  293 

traders    were    synonymous, — although    provided 
with  excellent  educational  institutions,  and  famous 
for  artistic  culture  and  enterprise  in  commerce, 
affected    the   archaic  speech  of  the  countryfolk 
beyond   their   gates.     Daily   in   church,    market, 
meeting,  and  at  home  it  was  the  curre  nt  coin  of 
language.     This  is  perhaps  not  exceptional,  for  it 
is  a  noticeable  habit  of  all  town  populations.     The 
dialect   is   a   curious   blend   of  Lombardian   and 
Engadinese— a  mixing  of  Latin  roots  with  German. 
Its  origin  may  be  traced  to  the  Romansch  of  the 
valleys  and  alps  of  the  Bernina  and  the  Ortler, 
where   rough   medieval    footpaths    intersect  the 
well-made  Roman  roads.     Thither  valley  dwellers 
of  the  Bergamo  and  Brescia  country,  following  the 
employment   of   shepherds,   lead   their   immense 
flocks   of    lanky,    tawny    sheep    and    goats   for 
aromatic   pasturage.      Travellers   along   the   Val 
Bregaglia   to-day   are   familiar   with   picturesque 
manly  figures  posed  on  rugged  rocks  and  under 
gnarled  oaks,  habited  in  huge  brown  cloaks  and 
wide  leather  breeches,  their  legs  swathed,  like  the 
ancients,  in  loose,  coarse  woollen  cloth,  with  black 
leather  thongs.     On  their  heads  of  long,  unkempt 
hair  felt  sombreros ;  in  their  hands  sturdy  poles  or 
staves ;  on  their  backs  bagpipes,  and  in  their  leathern 
belts  pipes  or  horns,  for  they  are  all,  men  and  boys, 
pifferari — musicians  of  the  mountain  sohtudes. 


294    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

These  peasants,  too,  can  dance  and  grimace  ; 
they  always  could,  for  was  not  the  first  race  of 
Harlequins  shepherds  of  Bergamo  and  Brescia  ? 
And  did  not  the  nimble,  sly  and  dancing  Brighetta 
mother  the  whole  family  of  the  Marionettes  which 
sprang  forth  from  the  valleys  of  the  Lombardian 
Alps  ?  Italian  masques  and  burlesques  look  to 
these  sister  valleys  for  their  first  steps  into  fame. 
The  name  Harlequin — "  Arlecchino  " — proclaims 
the  child  a  servant  of  Erli,  the  King  of  the  spirits 
of  the  mountain  and  gnomes  of  the  cavern.  The 
posturing  measures  of  the  mountain- valley  dances, 
the  monfrine,  are  danced  to-day  in  the  villages  of 
Lombardy  as  the  tarantelle  are  in  Naples  and  the 
South.  To  see  such  sights  in  naive  perfection 
one  must  be  at  Bergamo  on  the  Fiera  di  Sant' 
Alessandro,  originally  the  annual  fair  of  the  silk 
trade,  which  has  not  been  intermitted  for  a  thou- 
sand years. 

In  and  about  Brescia,  and  particularly  in  the 

Val  Trompia  and  the  Val  Sabbia,  the  children  still 

keep  up  the  traditional  dance-songs  of  the  olden 

time.    In  two  divisions, — boys  and  girls  severally, 

— they  sing  : 

"  0  dansa,  bella  dansa, 
Che  fa  la  dansa  tora, 
0  ri,  o  ri  oltela, 
Chi  fa  la  riolta, 
Alto  alto  earner ada, 
Lase  pasd  sta  masceradaJ'  etc. 


"  SEBINO  "  295 

Then  they  approach  and  retire,  one  party  saluting 

the  other  ; 

*'  Apri,  apri  le  porte, 
Logina  logid, 
Apri,  apri  le  porte, 
Logina  al  cavalid.^* 

and  the  other  replying  : 

"  Le  porte  sono  aperte, 
Logina,  logid, 
Le  porte  sono  aperte. 
Logina  al  cavalid'' 

The  Valleys  of  Brembana  and  Cavallina  have 
always  been  famous  for  the  virtues  of  their  thermal 
waters.  Trescore-Balneario,  within  twelve  miles 
of  Bergamo,  was  known  in  Roman  times.  In  the 
eighth  century  it  yearly  attracted  gouty  patients 
by  the  score.  Then  the  good,  far-seeing  and  com- 
mercial Benedictines  acquired  the  chief  springs, — 
which  included  pungent  sulphur  as  well  as  bitter 
saline  waters, — and  added  to  their  cure  of  souls 
the  cure  of  bodies.  Warlike  times  were  destruc- 
tive of  monkish  investments,  and  the  healthful 
streams  ran  to  waste,  until  the  grand  old  Con- 
dottiere  Bartolommeo  CoUeone,  from  his  new  castle 
at  Malpaga,  set  to  work  to  undergo  the  cure  for 
his  own  wounded,  suffering  humanity,  and  then 
to  provide  similar  healing  opportunities  for  his 
poorer  neighbours.  He  made  cisterns,  basins 
and  baths,  wherein  to  store  and  use  the  waters ; 


296    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

and  whilst  he  made  his  wealthy  neighbours  pay- 
high  fees,  the  baths  were  free  to  the  needy  sick. 
The  worthy  old  soldier,  too,  did  excellent  service 
to  the  countryside  in  the  direction  of  irrigation 
works.  He  harnessed  the  wasteful  flood  of  the 
Serio,  and  started  saw-mills  and  mills  for  grind- 
ing corn  upon  the  deepened  and  walled-in  canal. 

Everyone  who  passes  by  Trecore  makes  a  point 
of  visiting  Villa  Suardi,  belonging  to  the  Conte  di 
Bergamo.  There  is  Lorenzo  Lotto's  exquisite 
portrait  of  two  beautiful  "  Ladies  of  the  Lakes  " 
— Madonna  Orsolina  and  Donna  Paolina,  mother 
and  sister  of  Signore  Battista  Suardi — both 
painted  in  1524.  Happily,  in  the  restoration  of 
the  villa,  1706,  these  precious  memorials  were 
uninjured.     They  are  in  the  villa  chapel. 

"  Lords  and  Ladies  of  the  Italian  Lakes  "  have 
followed  in  Colleone's  steps.  You  will  not  find  a 
more  agreeable  health-resort  anywhere  than  San 
Pellegrino,  half-way  up  the  valley.  The  pine- 
woods  are  good  for  respiration,  and  chestnut-groves 
pleasant  for  alfresco  meals.  In  the  Val  Cavallina 
is  a  very  splendid  villa,  the  Castello  di  Costa  di 
Mezzate,  with  lofty  towers  and  open  columned 
loggie.  The  original  building  dates  from  early 
Visconti  days.  Kefortified  by  Niccolo  Piccinino, 
it  was  sacked  and  burnt,  and  then  rebuilt,  by 
Otto  Piccinino,  and  the  towers  were  surmounted 


FRATE-CAVALIERE    CRI8TOFORO    VERTOVA 

From  a  Painting  of  the  Lombard  School.      Armoury  Museum,  Malta 


To  face  page  296 


"SEBINO"  297 

by  Ghibelline  machicolations.  In  the  twelfth 
century  the  family  of  Vertova  held  it ;  they  came 
from  the  hamlet  of  Vertova,  in  the  Val  Seriana, 
where  are  the  ruins  of  their  ancestral  castle, 
the  most  renowned  member  thereof  being  the 
first  Consul  of  Bergamo  in  1160 — Albertoni  da 
Vertova.  Charles  V.  visited  the  castle,  and  in  a 
way  annexed  it,  but  created  Leonardo  and 
Galeazzo  Vertova  Knights  of  Malta.  Frate  Cristo- 
foro  Vertova  was  the  Commander  of  Malta  what 
time  the  Piedmontese  warred  in  Turkey  and  Bar- 
bary,  and  he  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  infidel. 
In  the  armoury  of  Malta  are  preserved  his  suit 
of  black  armour,  with  a  record  of  his  victories  at 
sea,  and  his  portrait.  Coming  to  more  recent  days, 
Giovanni  Battista  Vertova  was  appointed  Regent 
of  Lombardy  under  Napoleon  Buonaparte,  but 
with  his  daughter.  Countess  Elizabetta,  his  race 
ended.  She  married  Count  Camozzi  de'  Gherardi, 
and  all  the  Vertova  property  passed  to  that 
family,  with  the  name  Vertova  hyphened  to 
Gherardi.  All  the  Camozzi- Vertove  were  Knights 
of  Malta,   and  addressed,  as  usual,  by  the  affix 

Many  interesting  objects  are  carefully  preserved 
in  the  villa  :  a  cannon  used  by  Bartolommeo 
Colleone ;  the  sabre  of  the  Archduke  Sigisimondo 
of  Austria  ;  the  bedstead  of  San  Carlo  Borromeo, 


298    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

whereupon  he  laid  when  residing  at  the  house  of 
Conte  Suardi,  in  Rome  ;  portraits  of  King 
Stanislaus  of  Poland  and  the  Empress  Catherine 
of  Russia,  given  by  Her  Majesty  to  Cardinal 
d'  Archetti,  whose  mother  was  a  Vertova  ;  and 
the  flag  of  Count  Giovanni  Battista  Camozzi- 
Vertova,  borne  at  Tonale  and  riddled  with  shot. 
In  a  room  hung  with  fine  tapestry  are  exhibited 
many  letters  of  Marie  Antoinette.  One  gruesome 
object  is  the  head  of  a  young  girl,  killed  in  the 
Revolution  of  1848-49.  The  historian  Antonio 
Calvi,  in  his  "  Cronache  Bergamesche,^^  relates  the 
story  of  a  tragedy  which  happened  in  1703  at  the 
villa.  A  young  lady,  a  Gritti,  married  into  the 
house,  through  the  malignity  of  a  rejected  lover 
was  accused  unjustly  by  the  miscreant  before  her 
husband,  Guglielmo  Vertova,  of  gross  infidelity. 
Deaf  to  all  assertions  of  innocence,  and  probably 
content  to  be  free  for  other  intrigues,  he  hurled 
his  young  wife  from  one  of  the  windows  into  the 
moat  below.  She  fell  dead  into  the  water.  The 
false  friend  fared  no  better,  for  the  enraged  hus- 
band strangled  him  and  threw  his  body  after 
that  of  his  wife.  It  must  have  been  a  dark  night, 
for  the  genial  sun  of  that  sun-kissed  valley  could 
not  have  borne  witness  to  so  foul  a  deed  ! 

The  River  MeUa, — of  the  honey-bee  and  apricot, 
— which  tentatively  waters   the   city  of   Brescia, 


"  SEBINO  "  299 

flows  from  Monte  Dosso-Alto,  at  the  head  of  the 
Val  Trompia — a  valley  full  of  iron  and  copper 
mines,  which  furnish  fine  metal  for  the  splendid 
swords  and  weapons  of  Bresican  fame.  The  valley 
is  enclosed  in  mountain-heights,  but  these  are  inter- 
spersed with  grassy  alps  or  meads,  whereupon  are, 
in  many  places,  very  curious  circles  of  rough 
stones  whereat  the  traveller  wonders.  At  Taver- 
nola,  perhaps,  is  the  most  perfect  rondo.  Their 
purpose  was  to  serve  as  meeting-places  for  the 
headmen  of  the  valley  when  gathering  for 
counsel  and  defence.  The  meadow  enclosed  by 
these  stone  circles  was  regarded  as  common  land, 
but  withdrawn  from  pasturage.  Each  peasant 
had  to  give  a  portion  of  his  time  to  dress  the 
grass,  and  the  crops  of  hay  were  sold  by  public 
auction  for  the  benefit  of  the  parish  priest.  The 
district  of  Bagolino,  which  separates  the  Brescian 
from  the  Trentino  Alps,  has  the  designation 
"  Romanterra,''  as  indicating  the  limits  of  the 
Roman  power,  and  where  Italian,  Greek,  and 
German  met  to  watch  each  other.  There  is  a 
very  curious  story  about  the  earliest  Greek  settlers 
in  the  Val  Trompia,  which  relates  that  when  they 
reached,  with  their  flocks  and  herds,  the  region  of 
Bagolino,  it  began  to  snow.  They  had  never  seen 
or  heard  of  the  like  before,  and  when  the  children 
asked  what  the  white  flakes  were,  they  were  told 


300    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

that  they  were  "  Ni^a  nipa  alia  marina  !" — Foam 
scuds  from  the  sea  !. 

The  young  country  people  of  the  Brescian  Alps 
seem  to  have  been  especially  addicted  to  music 
and  the  dance.  In  the  ^'  Cronaca  di  Brescia'^  of 
1400  many  folklore  ditties  and  measures  are 
enumerated.  Venus  and  Mars  quite  naturally 
furnished  the  motifs  of  those  roundelays.  It 
would  seem  that  the  young  girls  from  the  Lake  of 
Iseo  were  especially  sought  after  by  amorous 
youths  of  Brescia.  The  chronicler  Malvezzi  gives 
at  length  one  of  these  songs,  called  "  Le  Donne 
Lombarda  " — 

Le  Donne  Lombarda. 

Donna  lombarda  fammi  piacere 

Ve  al  vol  con  me. 
Ben  volentieri  me  vegnerla 

Se  no  gavesi  el  mio  mxir\. 
Quel  tuo  marito  folio  morire 

Fallo  morl. 
*  *  *  *  * 

Donna  lombarda,  a  che  maniera 

Che  questo  vino  V  e  intorbidd  ? 
U  e  stato  el  vento  de  Valtra  sera 

CK  el  ve  la  fato  entorbidd 
Quando  on  bambino  de  sete  mesi 

Che  non  ancora  sapea  parld. 
»  #  *  *  * 

Tuti  li  goti  che  la  beveva. 

A  rivederci  caro  marit 
A  rivederci  sacra  corona. 

Un'  altra  sposa  cingi  per  me 
Cos)  si  trata  donne  tiranne 

Donne  tiranne.  col  so  marit  J" 


"  SEBINO  "  301 

The   Bresciaese   have   a  game  which   old   and 

young   are  never  tired  of  playing,  "  Le  Poste  al 

Paradiso,''  in  which  they  ring  bells — the  bells  of 

Heaven — and  strike  tambourines  with  canes — the 

rattles  of  Hell — and  sing  : 

*'  6na  ledo,  te  tre  canele 
Che  sonava  le  capanele, 
Che  sonava  loril  lorillo 
Che  sonava  le  ventitre 
Ona,  do  e  tre'' 

Then  all  scramble  for  places.  Unlucky  is  the  one 
left  out  in  the  scrimmage.  Perhaps  this  game  has 
its  British  replica  in  "  Musical  Chairs." 

In  Bergamo  and  Brescia  there  is  much  that  is 
Spanish  in  their  architecture,  and  Spanish  in 
their  manners.  Brescia  is  a  typical  Renaissance 
city, — her  castle  was  called  the  "  Falcon  of  Lom- 
bardy," — and  her  people  are  less  migratory  than 
the  Bergamese,  and  more  self-reliant.  She  is 
the  city  of  the  wine-press  par  excellence,  and  her 
mood  is  always  merry.  Still,  one  of  her  most 
venerated  heroes  was  a  monk,  Amoldo,  the  leader 
of  political  and  ecclesiastical  reformation  in  Lom- 
bardy  and  Rome.  For  his  intrepidity  he  suffered 
death  at  the  hands  of  Pope  Hadrian  IV.  ;  but  his 
influence  survived,  and  the  historian  has  placed 
him  along  with  Rienzi  and  Savonarola  in  the 
Temple  of  Fame.  There  are  three  palaces  of  the 
Martinenghis  :    in  one  of   them — Martinengo-Sal- 


302    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

vadego  Moretto  painted  the  walls  of  the  Salita 
in  fresco,  with  portraits  of  eight  beautiful 
daughters  of  the  house, — some  say  they  were 
sisters,  children  of  Count  Cesare.  The  decora- 
tive use  in  the  compositions  of  campanulas  and 
butterflies  is  very  beautiful  and  suitable — those 
being  the  emblems  of  the  family.  The  back- 
grounds of  the  tableaux  show  a  complete  panorama 
of  the  city.  Countess  Cassandra,  one  of  the 
galaxy  of  beauty,  has  about  her  something  of  the 
"  Ariadne  "  of  Eomney's  "  Lady  Hamilton."  She 
seems  to  be  almost  listlessly  looking  for  her  lover  ; 
anyhow,  she  is  a  beautiful  girl,  and  she  wears  a 
very  becoming  dress.  She  and  her  sisters  seven 
are  as  comely  as  any  of  the  countless  lovely 
"  Ladies  of  the  Lakes." 

Two  noble  "  Lords "  there  were  who  made 
their  residence  at  Brescia  famous — Bay  art — "  Sans 
peur  et  sans  reproche  " — and  Gaston  de  Foix,  Duke 
of  Nemours,  both  worthy  captains  of  the  usurping 
hosts  of  France.  The  former  lay  wounded  in  the 
head  by  a  cannon-ball,  and  he  was  waited  on  by 
a  virtuous  lady  of  Brescia  and  her  two  young 
daughters.  All  three  were  smitten  with  devotion 
to  their  patient ;  but,  resisting  somewhat  their 
impetuosity,  the  gallant  chevalier  embraced  them 
in  turn  affectionately,  and  promised  them  their 
own    again.     On    parting,    the   host    offered   his 


THE    COUNTESS    CASSANDRA    MARTINENOO 

ALESSANDBO    MOBETTO 

Martinengo   Palace,    Brescia 


To  face  page : 


••  SEBINO  **  303 

distinguished  guest  a  casket  filled  with  gold  ducats, 
and  in  return  begged  for  a  voucher  of  security  from 
pillage  by  the  troops.  "  Take  back  your  ducats,  my 
good  sir,"  replied  Bay  art.  "  Your  daughters  want 
husbands  ;  give  half  the  sum  to  each  in  token  of 
my  gratitude  for  their  care  of  me.  .  .  .  Fare  you 
weU !" 

The  Val  Sabbia, — with  its  continuation,  the  Val 
Buona,  in  Southern  Tirol, — is  the  most  lengthy 
and  the  narrowest  of  all  the  valleys  of  the  Ber- 
gamesque  and  Brescian  Alps.  Topographically 
and  climatically,  it  differs  considerably  from  the 
other  verdant  vales  further  west.  It  is  less  fertile, 
less  temperate,  less  inhabited,  and  it  offers  fewer 
points  of  interest  to  the  passer-by.  From  the 
great  sweep  of  road  beyond  Gavardo  there  are 
captivating  views  of  Sale,  on  the  Lake  of  Garda, 
and  of  the  Riviera  to  Gargnano.  The  soft  breeze 
from  over  the  lake  wafts  perfumed  inhalations  of 
oleander  and  lime  ;  but  farther  on  the  sternness 
of  precipice,  waterfall,  and  pine-tree  overawe  the 
traveller.  Enclosed  by  bare  and  lofty  mountains 
right  away  to  the  Bocca  di  Brento  and  the  giant 
Adamello,  the  valley  assumes  the  character  of 
the  sally-port  and  drawbridge  of  a  battlemented 
stronghold.  In  truth  such  it  is,  for  it  is  the 
frontier  between  great  rival  States,  where  Latin 
meets  Teuton  face  to  face ;  and  such  it  has  been 

for  more  than  one  thousand  years, 

20 


304:    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

Few  outposts  of  civilization  have  witnessed  as 
many    tragedies    and    scenes    of    pathos    and    of 
sanctuary   as   the   Val   Sabbia   and   Val   Buona. 
Ruins  crown  each  elevated  spur  of  crag,  hermits' 
ceUs   are   cavemed     in   the   rock,    and   the   few 
churches  are  weirdly  ancient  and  inornate.    Man's 
work  has  but  taken  its  cue  from  the  harshness  of 
Nature  round  about.     Eank  and  sparse   is  the 
grass,  gaunt  and  gnarled  the  trees  ;  gay  butterflies 
and  melodious  nightingales  of    the  lakeland  are 
rare  visitants ;  the  eerie  eagle  and  the  ravening 
crow  are  monarchs  of  the  air,  and  the  gusty  winds 
blow  cold  from  ice-fields  not  far  away.     With 
something  akin  to  relief  the  wayfarer  comes  upon 
the  mountain  Lago  d'  Idro,  a   six   miles   round 
stretch  of  deep  indigo-dyed  water,  clear  and  cold 
as  a  cheerless  tarn.     The  eye  fastens  upon  the 
Rocca  d'  Anfo,  hanging  dizzily  over  the  gloomy 
waters — once  a  Venetian  frontier  fortress,  a  prison- 
house  in  later  days,  and  now  a  ruin  of  the  gory 
past.     What   tragedies    have   not    eyes,    peering 
through  those  iron  window-slips,  beheld  time  out 
of    mind !      From    Verona,    Mantua,    Cremona, 
Brescia,    and    Bergamo,    many    a    fugitive    rode 
through  their  gates  and  made  a  dash  for  liberty 
in  the  fastnesses  of  the  Val  Sabbia.     Witches  in 
the  hands  of  captors  were  hailed  to  the  moun- 
tains, there  to  expiate  their  crimes  by  the  sword 
or  by  starvation.     Many  a  luckless  princeling  and 


'  SEBINO  "  305 

many  a  maiden  forlorn  hid  where  the  wild  torrent 
Caff aro  splashes  foam  on  the  dank  rocks.  In  the  im- 
passable gorge  discovery  was  impossible,  and  there 
the  whitened  bones  of  outcasts  from  the  strife  of 
men  were  all  the  birds  of  prey  left  to  tell  the  tale  of 
human  failure.  "  Gurth  the  Swineherd,"  painted 
by  Charles  Edward  Johnson,  was  not  the  only 
man  of  renown  who  sought  safety  in  disguise  and 
distance  from  his  foes.  One  other  picture  at  the 
British  National  Gallery  points  as  well  the  moral 
of  the  story  of  Anfo  and  Caff  aro — "  Found,"  by 
Sir  Hubert  Herkomer.  The  dying  fugitive  is 
discovered  by  an  old  hag  goatherdess,  his  blade 
broken  in  two,  and  his  life-blood  running  out. 

Dante  must  have  had  these  harsh  mountain 
valleys  in  his  mind, — he  knew  well  their  dismal 
fame, — when  he  wrote  in  his  *'  Inferno  "  : 

"...  Risen  upright, 
My  eyes  rested,  I  moved  about  and  sought 
With  fixed  gaze  to  know  what  place  this  was 
Wherein  I  stood.     Suddenly  upon  the  brink 
Of  the  lamentable  vale  I  discovered 
The  dread  abyss  that  gives  a  thunderous  sound 
Of  plaints  innumerable,  dark  and  deep, 
With  thick  clouds  overhead." 

From  Crossa  in  the  Giudicaria,  beyond  Caffaro, 
a  road  leads  through  the  sequestered  Val  Ampola, 
past  the  peaceful  Lago  di  Ledro,  to  Riva  on  the 
Lake  of  Garda — a  very  rapid  transformation  scene 
indeed  ! 


CHAPTER  VI 

"BENACO" 
THE   LAKE   OF   GARDA 

"benaco"  is  the  greatest  and  the  most  seduc- 
tive of  all  the  North  Italian  lakes.  Dante  Ali- 
ghierijin  his  "  Inferno,''  Canto  XXI.,  sings  thus  of 
the  magnificence  of  regal  Garda  : 

"  Mid  fair  Italians  highlands,  lies  a  lake 
Shadow'd  by  Alpine  barriers  'gainst  the  Teuton  foe, 
Away  beyond  Tirol — '  Benaco  '  it  is  called." 

From  ancient  Roman  times  its  charms  have  fas- 
cinated men  and  women  of  light  and  learning. 
Its  shape, — ^not  unlike  that  of  a  comet, — its  tail 
to  the  north, — is  unique,  and  lends  itself  to 
constant  permutations  of  surface  and  reflections. 

''  Palpito  il  lago  di  Virgilio,  come 

Velo  di  Sposa. 
Che  5'  apre  al  hacio  del  promesso  amore  /"* 

Aleardo  Aleardi,  the  Veronese  poet,  likens  the 
sweep  of  Garda's  flood  to  the  trail  of  the  sunbeams 
across  the  sky  : 

*  "  The  tremulous  ripplings  of  Virgil's  lake 

Like  a  bridal  veil 
Just  rais'd  and  lower 'd  a  nuptial  kiss  to  take," 
306 


"  BENACO  "  307 

"  11  Sol  dair  orizzante 
Saettava  sul  piano 
Purissimo  del  Qarda.''* 

Garda  is  the  lacustrine  Juno  of  Italy.  Her 
history  is  Imperial,  her  influence  upon  mankind 
is  pageant-like, — the  pageantry  of  a  Royal  Court, 
— her  affluence  the  most  radiant  and  luxuriant 
in  the  rival  arenas  of  love  and  arms.  Like  a 
capricious  beauty,  Garda  displays  all  the  airs  and 
graces  of  the  boudoir,  and  all  the  jealousies  and 
tragedies  of  the  rendezvous.  Launched  upon  her 
deep  waters,  the  idyll  of  her  charm  changes  with 
the  wind  from  the  prosaic  to  the  romantic,  to  the 
heroic.  Her  shores,  now  low-lying,  now  piled  in 
precipices,  resemble  walls  of  storied  buildings  be- 
dight  with  frescoes.  Her  hamlets  and  villages  are 
seething  vessels,  whence  pulsate  the  hot  Italian 
blood  of  mortals,  prone  to  passion,  yet  bom  to 
love.  No  greater  contrast  in  Nature  can  be 
imagined  than  the  bewitching  amenities  of  the 
Riviera, — between  Sal6  and  Gargnano, — and  the 
stem  repulsiveness  of  the  sheer  cliffs  of  the 
Austrian  frontier.  Every  aspect  of  the  realm  of 
Flora  is  presented  to  the  ravished  eye  :  her  rarest 
blooms  and  fruits  are  ready  to  be  gathered  by 
the   craving   hand,   and   every  prospect   pleases. 

*  "  The  languishing  sun 

Darts  beams  across  the  plain 
No  purer  than  the  face  of  Garda." 


308    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

Beneath  the  shine  and  shadow  of  her  chameleon- 
like waters,  swim  the  rarest  and  the  most  toothsome 
fish  that  can  engage  man's  skill  and  delight  his 
palate.  The  fish  of  Garda, — the  trota,  carpione, 
scarline^  and  luccio  in  particular, — have  been 
famous  historically  ever  since  Catullus  and  his 
brother  epicures  built  their  fishing-temples,  their 
baths,  and  their  villas  upon  her  shores,  and  laid 
out  her  pristine  gardens.  Merlin  Cocai  writes 
thus,  after  regaling  on  lake  carp  or  silver  trout : 

"  There  is  a  lake — and  men  call  it  Garda, 
Whose  fish,  none  better  for  the  larder — 
Enslave  the  tongue  and  will." 

The  carpione  of  Garda  was  regarded  by  the 
travelled  Venetians  as  a  dish  for  the  immortals, 
and  no  banquet  in  the  city  of  Venus  was  complete 
without  that  delicacy ;  they  cooked  it  in  white 
wine,  and  strewed  it  with  citron  flowers.  The 
Emperor  Frederic  III.,  in  1489,  —  when  passing 
over  the  troubled  lakes  and  resting  upon  its 
shores, — testified  to  two,  at  least,  of  Garda's 
excellences.  "  The  taste,"  said  he,  "  of  the  silver 
trout,  and  the  scent  of  the  golden  lemons,  are 
unsurpassable  !"  Certainly  the  whole  five  senses 
of  human  enjoyment  are  superlatively  gratified 
along  and  on  Lake  Garda. 


"  BENACO  "  309 


Sirmione,  —  the  "  olive-silvery  Sirmio  "  of 
Tennyson, — on  its  narrow  promontory,  resembles, 
perhaps,  a  silver  dagger  plunged  into  the  heart  of 
a  golden  pomegranate.  Its  fame  goes  back  for 
ages.  The  ruins  of  the  castle  of  the  Scaligeri  are, 
in  fact,  the  base  rock  of  Queen  Ansa's  Convent. 
Consort  of  the  eighth-century  Desiderio, — the  far- 
famed  Lombard  King, — she  renounced  on  widow- 
hood quite  conventionally  the  pleasures  of  the 
world,  and  withdrew  to  the  loveliest,  loneliest 
spot  she  knew.  At  the  point  of  the  peninsula  she 
built  a  dower-house  for  Benedictine  nuns,  and 
dedicated  her  convent  to  St.  Salvatore — the  patron 
of  the  armed  Longobards.  Queen  Ansa's  founda- 
tions also  included  the  three  churches — St.  Martin, 
St.  Vito,  and  St.  Peter. 

The  advent  of  the  Scaligeri  was  of  much  more 
recent  date.  Martino  della  Scala,  the  Ghibelline 
Podesta  of  Verona,  was  assassinated  in  1277  ;  but 
his  brother  and  successor,  Alberto,  revenged  the 
foul  deed,  and  raised  his  family's  fame  and  banner 
high.  For  one  hundred  years  they  dominated  the 
plain  of  Lombardy  and  all  lakeland  until,  with 
Bianca,  widow  of  Giovanni  Galeazzo  Visconti, 
their  possessions  in  1405  passed  to  the  Serene 
Republic  of  Venice.  The  Scala  male-line  ended 
in  1392,  on  the  death  of  Conte  Francesco. 


310    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

Sirmione  was  one  while  the  scene  of  fanaticism. 
The  '^  Patareni,^^  —  Manichoeans, — set  up  their 
standard  there  to  flout  the  frivolities  and  ferocities 
of  the  Delia  Scala  Court.  They  were  driven  from 
place  to  place,  until,  at  Sirmione,  they  found  an 
ideal  refuge  and  sanctuary.  Accused  of  nameless 
atrocities,  and  denounced  by  the  Pope  of  Rome, 
Martino  II.,  Lord  of  Verona  and  the  Lakes,  issued 
a  commission  to  inquire  into  their  tenets  and  their 
aims.  Condemned,  with  scarce  a  hearing,  the 
deluded  sectarians  were  ordered  to  recant  and 
receive  the  Communion  in  the  Church  of  San 
Pietro, — the  only  remnant  of  good  Queen  Ansa's 
munificence.  Some  gave  way,  and  some  stood 
firm,  and  these  were  ordered  to  be  burnt.  The 
venerable  and  infirm  were  fastened  to  stakes  set 
up  in  the  little  square  before  the  church,  and  there, 
in  the  midst  of  the  sweetest  sights  and  sounds  of 
God's  universe,  the  crackling  flames  devoured 
their  limbs  and  the  sickening  stench  of  roasting 
human  flesh  contaminated  the  fragrance  of 
oleanders  and  magnolias.  One  hundred  and 
fifty  younger  folk  were  carried  off  to  Verona, 
and  suffered,  like  gladiators  of  old,  in  the 
arena. 

For  his  vindication  of  the  Catholic  Religion, 
Pope  Nicholas  III.  bestowed  upon  Martino  the 
title  of  "  Son  of  the  Church,"  and  gave  him  the 
Castle  of  Ilassi,  some  ten  miles  from  Verona.     In 


'•  BEN  AGO  "  311 

the  sixteenth  century  it  passed  to  the  Conti  de' 
Pompei  of  Verona,  and  they  built  villas  and  laid 
out  gardens  on  the  slopes  of  the  castle  hill. 
Charles  V., — who,  with  his  fair  daughter  Maria, 
loved  Sirmione,  and  relished  well  its  trout  and 
sardines, — made  the  Pompei  citizens  of  Milan. 
Count  Antonio  was  something  of  an  archaeologist, 
and  he  had  a  hobby  for  digging  up  old  stones  and 
probing  ruins.  Perhaps  he  was  induced  by  a 
weird  story  of  the  times  of  the  Scaligeri.  A  fair 
maiden, — a  Patarena,  be  it  said, — was  saved  from 
the  holocausts  at  Sirmione  to  be  attached  to  the 
signorial  household.  She,  however,  disappeared 
mysteriously,  and  rumour  had  it  that  Martino  II. 
made  her  his  mistress  ;  but,  finding  the  connec- 
tion injurious  to  his  reputation  for  dogmatical 
perfection  of  deportment,  he  had  her  strangled 
and  her  body  buried  in  an  unknown  spot  at  Ilassi. 
There  is,  to  be  sure,  another  legend  at  Ilassi, — 
gruesome,  too, — but  it  affected  the  family  of  the 
Pompei.  Countess  Ginevra,  wife  of  Count  Gior- 
lamo  di'  Pompei,  was  unfaithful  to  her  husband — 
her  paramour  being  an  under-seneschal  of  the 
castle.  The  Count  strangled  her — a  ready  way 
then  in  aristocratic  circles,  and  very  popular — and 
the  lover  was  thrown  into  a  river.  The  body  of 
the  murdered  Countess  was  buried  within  the 
keep  of  the  castle ;  some,  indeed,  say  she  was 
built  alive  into  a  hollow  in  the  thick  wall  of  the 


312    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

dungeon  and  left  to  die — another  not  uncommon 
end  for  noble  ladies  none  too  true  to,  or  outraged 
by,  profligate  spouses.  Anyhow,  Count  Antonio 
de'  Pompei  found  one  day  what  he  was  looking 
for — the  skeleton  of  a  woman,  with  beautiful 
auburn  hair.  Among  the  remains  were  articles  of 
jewellery  which  betokened  rank  and  wealth. 
Around  the  ankle-bones  and  wrists  were  still 
the  iron  rings,  and  there  were  also  iron  chains 
which  had  chafed  the  breasts  of  the  frail  beauty. 
What  a  sad  time  must  Prince  Cupid  have  had 
when  lovers  were  parted  thus  ! 

Hidden  away  in  its  exquisite  bay  lies  the  smiling 
and  ambitious  little  town  of  Salo,  its  white  and 
painted  houses  all  smothered  up  deliciously  in 
fragrant  groves  of  oleander — the  laurel  of  the 
Greeks.  A  coronal  of  sumptuous  villas  crowns 
the  undulating  upland.  Some  are  of  ancient 
origin,  others  of  modern  date,  but  blend  wide- 
parted  centuries  of  struggle  and  romance.  Famous 
families  have  come  and  gone ;  names  of  some  only 
remain  to  individualize  traditions  of  the  past — 
others  are  incarnate  still.  As  pre-eminent  as  any 
stands  the  noble  house  of  Martinengo, — named 
from  the  simple  cradle  of  the  family, — a  little 
village  of  obscurity  midway  between  Bergamo 
and  Treviglio,  out  upon  the  great  Lombardian 
plain.  Many  branches  have  issued  from  the 
parent  stock,  but  aU  look  to  Tebaldo  of  that  ilk 


"  BENACO  "  313 

as  the  initial  figure  of  the  race.  Tebaldo  was  the 
Lieutenant  of  the  warfaring  Emperor  Otto  II., 
and  the  recipient  of  Imperial  honours — fifteen 
castles,  great  and  small,  being  held  by  him  in 
chief. 

Cesare  Martinengo,  in  the  sixteenth  century, — 
the  head  of  the  Cesaresco  branch, — made  himself 
a  name  in  war  and  peace  alike.  Father  of  four- 
teen vigorous  sons  and  eight  most  beauteous 
daughters,  he  was  indeed  the  creator  of  a  glorious 
progeny  ;  and,  if  Sansovino,  the  chronicler,  is  to 
be  believed,  he  lived  up  to  his  great  parental  fame 
in  the  exhibition  of  such  splendour  and  prodigality 
as  carried  the  glory  of  the  Martinenghi  far  and  wide 
through  Europe.  The  vigour  of  this  famous  sire 
is  still  maintained  in  his  descendants  ;  the  chief 
of  the  family  still  resides  and  rules  at  Castello 
Roccafranca. 

The  grandson  of  Cesare  Martinengo, — *'  the 
Magnificent"  Sciarra, — was  educated  at  the  Court 
of  France,  and  became  an  eminent  soldier  of 
fortune.  The  same  worthy  historian  says  of  him  : 
"  He  was  gifted  with  extraordinary  genius  ;  un- 
conquerable by  fatigue  or  strife,  a  scomer  of 
danger,  he  was  a  pillar  of  strength  to  any  cause 
he  assumed.  ..."  Count  Sciarra  rose  to  high 
commands  in  the  army  of  the  King  of  France. 
When  still  a  youth, — it  has  been  recorded, — he 
heard  that  his  father  had  been  basely  assassinated 


S14    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

by  Count  Aluigi  Avogardo  of  Brescia.  Posting 
immediately  to  Lombardy,  he  reached  that  city 
with  five  stalwart  comrades,  sworn  to  secrecy  and 
revenge.  Their  lying  in  wait  was  told  to  Avo- 
gardo, who  eluded  his  adversaries  adroitly,  and  at 
length,  when  they  had  cornered  him,  he  very 
narrowly  escaped  Sciarra's  blade,  having  changed 
clothes  with  one  of  his  suite,  whose  life  was  taken 
for  his  master's.  Count  Sciarra  had  to  seek 
safety  in  flight,  for,  by  the  laws  of  Venice,  which 
then  ruled  Gardan  territory,  life  was  had  for  life. 
Back  went  the  Count  to  Prance,  resumed  his 
prowess,  and  died  a  hero's  death  in  the  war  of 
the  Huguenots. 

Count  Sciarra's  father.  Count  Giorgio  Cesaresco 
Martinengo,  scrupulously  carried  on  the  family 
tradition  for  ostentation  :  he  is  known  in  story  as 
"  the  superb  Italian."  Doubtless  jealousy  was 
at  the  root  of  his  murderer's  ambition.  It  was 
only  by  cutting  down  men  more  prominent  than 
themselves  that  those  who  envied  their  fame  and 
fortune  succeeded  to  their  places.  This  altruism 
is  still  a  force  in  modern  socialistic  circles  ! 

Count  Giorgio,  as  became  aU  opulent  and 
powerful  nobles,  was  nothing  if  he  was  not  chival- 
rous to  boot.  A  story  goes  that  the  Marchioness 
of  Mantua,  making  one  of  her  famous  progresses 
through  her  husband's  dominions,  and  beyond, 
where  they  were  ready  to  welcome  her,  passed 


"  BENACO;'  315 

through  Brescia.  The  Count  met  her  at  the 
Venetian  gate  of  the  city,  and  offered  her  the  hos- 
pitality of  his  palace.  Her  Highness  declined  the 
invitation,  having,  as  she  said,  "  already  secured 
accommodation  at  the  Albergo  del  Castello." 
With  ready  wit  and  consummate  gallantry,  the 
not- to-be-denied  ''  Magnifico  "  immediately  secured 
the  hanging  sign  of  the  hostel,  and  hung  it  out 
triumphantly  over  the  portal  of  his  ancestral 
mansion.  The  Duchess,  of  course,  entirely  un- 
aware of  this  excellent  subterfuge,  made  no  demur 
at  dismounting  from  her  litter  at  the  palatial 
Albergo  del  Castello.  The  Count  had  played  his 
ace  of  trumps  upon  the  Queen's  trick  ! 

The  chivalry  of  Counts  Giorgio  and  Sciarra  dis- 
tinguished quite  naturally  their  relative.  Count 
Fortunato  Cesaresco  Martinengo.  He  was  the 
third  son  of  Count  Cesare  "  the  Magnificent."  His 
fame  was  that  of  his  nephew,  the  daring  Sciarra  : 
"Skilled  in  arms  and  knightly  exercises,  a  com- 
plete Courtier,  he  was  the  right-hand  man  of  all 
Italian  Sovereigns  ;  he  loved  to  right  the  oppressed 
and  to  scorn  the  proud.  To  moral  superiority  he 
added  charm  of  manner.  Whatever  he  undertook 
he  was  enthusiastic  in  its  prosecution.  Accom- 
pHshed  beyond  most  men  of  his  time,  he  was  a 
profound  Latinist,  a  capable  musician,  a  worthy 
poet,  and  a  fluent  speaker.  First  President  of  the 
Brescian '' Societd  di  Dubbiosi,'' — perhaps  Englished 


316    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

as  "Friends  of  impoverished  nobles" — he  ex- 
pended his  fortune  as  the  munificent  patron  of 
struggling  gentlemen  and  scholars.  Among  those 
who  have  sung  Count  Portunato's  praises  was 
Pietro  Aretino,  who  styles  him  "  conspicuous  for 
rare  literary  ability." 

Married  when  a  lad  to  a  wife  younger  than  him- 
self, Donna  Livia,  daughter  of  Count  d'  Arco, — a 
famous     Latinist, — she     inherited     her     father's 
scholarship,  and  was  a  rare  helpmeet  for  her  ac- 
complished  husband.     Alas !   the   Countess   died 
young,  too,  leaving  as  pledges  of  her  love  two 
sons  and  three  daughters.     Count  Portunato  was 
disconsolate ;    but    although    he    never    married 
again,  he  formed  a  platonic  association  with  a 
woman  more  famous  than  any  of  her  time — the 
celebrated  Marchesa  di  Pescara,  Vittoria  Colonna. 
The  Count's  conduct  was  marked  by  rare  courage 
and  devotion.     The  world  affected  to  look  down 
upon  the  heroine,  and  the  Pope  himself  tried  to 
injure  her  by  banning  her  as  "  unworthy  of  decent 
society."     Count  Fortunato  would  have  none  of 
it.     "  She   was   aged   more   by   sorrow   than   by 
years.     Nature  had  taken  back  her  beauty  ;  but 
she  was  erect  of  carriage,  with  a  noble  presence, 
the  mirror  of  tranquil  energy.     She  wore  black 
velvet,  covered  with  her  graceful  white  widow's 
veil,  and  she  found  a  delectable  asylum  in  a  Bene- 
dictine convent."     Thus  has  she  been  biographed 


VITTORIA    COLON  N  A    (1620) 
G.    MUZIACO 

Colonna  Galleiy,  Rome 


To  face  page  316 


"  BENACO  "  317 

in  faithful  terms.  The  Count  himself  found  her 
even  so,  and  wrote  sympathetically  as  follows  : 
"  Certainly  Vittoria  is  a  most  rare  and  distin- 
guished woman  ;  great  is  her  humility,  as  remark- 
able as  her  former  pride.  Her  whole  conduct,  no 
less  than  her  character,  is  princely.  She  has  an 
amazing  talent  for  conversation,  and  her  words 
are  like  fetters  which  enthral  the  hearer.  Her 
voice  has  reached  my  inmost  soul,  and  I  delight 
that  her  influence  has  made  me  her  willing  but 
unworthy  slave — the  slave  of  the  most  excellent 
and  most  conscientious  woman  that  the  sun  of 
Heaven  shines  upon."  The  letter  is  dated  from 
Salo,  June  7, 1546.  The  marchioness  was  then  jusfc 
fifty-seven  years  of  age,  and  the  following  year 
Count  Fortunato  was  once  more  struck  to  the 
heart  by  the  dart  of  death — the  death  of  the 
woman  he  loved  and  reverenced. 

No  juster  epitaph  for  Count  Fortunato  could 
be  desired  than  those  touching  words  of  Shake- 
speare : 

'*  The  dearest  friend  to  me,  the  kindest  man, 
The  best  conditioned  and  unwearied  spirit 
In  doing  kindly  acts,  and  one  in  whom 
The  ancient  Roman's  honour  more  appears 
Than  any  that  draw  breath  in  Italy." 

We  in  England  have  a  link  with  Count  Fortunato 
Cesaresco  Martinengo  in  the  person  of  his  brother 
Girolamo,  who,  entering  Religion,  rose  from  dig- 


318    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

nity  to  dignity  in  the  Church  until  he  became 
Papal  Legate  to  Austria  and  Poland.  In  I56I 
he  was  sent  as  an  Envoy  to  Queen  Elizabeth,  to 
ask  her  to  name  a  representative  at  the  (Council  of 
Trent.  He,  too,  maintained  the  family  traditions 
for  pompous  circumstance.  He  lived  sumptu- 
ously as  a  Prince  of  the  Church  ;  his  household  and 
all  his  appointments  were  splendid.  His  income 
was  splendid,  too,  for  he  possessed  the  tempor- 
alities of  three  bishoprics,  and  farmed  many  fat 
benefices  besides. 

If  the  Martinenghi  could  count  their  heroes, 
and  emblazon  their  names  in  glowing  colours  upon 
the  "  Lihro  d'  Oro  "  of  the  family,  they  could  also, 
as  may  be  naturally  supposed,  adorn  its  pages  with 
names  and  romances  of  heroines.  A  greatly  revered 
'  Lady  "  of  olden  times  was  Diana  Maria  Madda- 
lena  Martin engo — as  devout  as  she  was  beautiful, 
as  chaste  as  she  was  cultured.  Her  father  was 
Leopardo  Martinengo,  Count  of  Barco,  a  noted 
warrior  and  a  notable  mathematician  and  astron- 
omer. Gian  Francesco, — the  founder  of  the 
fame  of  that  branch  of  the  noble  family, — built 
the  stronghold  Rocca  d'  Anfo, — on  the  Lago  di 
Idro,  in  the  Brescian  Valley  of  Sabbio, — but  ceded 
it  to  the  Republic  of  Venice.  Count  Leopardo 
had  planned  a  favourable  marriage  for  his  daugh- 
ter, but  she  refused  to  see  her  prospective  hus- 
band, and  told  her  father  that  she  wished  to  follow 
the  example  and  to  emulate  the  virtues  of  good 


"  BENACO  "  319 

St.  Teresa  of  Spain.  For  four  years  the  Count, 
in  vain,  tried  to  move  Donna  Maria's  resolution, 
but  upon  her  seventeenth  birthday  he  yielded, 
and  the  devotee  entered  the  Franciscan  convent 
upon  the  Isola  de'  Frati — Garda's  most  lovely 
island.  She  gave  herself  not  only  to  works  of 
devotion,  but  wrote  many  mystic  books  on 
patristic  teaching.  Her  fame  for  sanctity  and 
learning  travelled  far :  Bishops  and  worldlings 
sought  her  counsel ;  and  when  she  had  attained 
the  age  of  forty,  she  was  chosen  Abbess  of  the 
convent.  For  seven  years  she  ruled  her  nuns 
with  firmness  and  affection,  and  died,  bewailed 
by  gentle  and  simple,  in  1684.  In  June,  1900, 
Maria  Maddalena  Martinengo  was  beatified,  and 
to-day  miracles  are  awaited  to  proclaim  her 
saintship. 

Salo  is  rich  indeed  in  romantic  stories  of  "  Lords 
and  Ladies  of  the  Itahan  Lakes,"  bat  something 
of  the  lurid  fastens  to  the  memory  of  one  of  the 
most  beautiful  women  that  ever  made  a  home 
there.  Vittoria  Accoramboni  was  remarkable 
alike  for  her  extraordinary  beauty  and  her  tragic 
history.  Her  contemporaries  regarded  her  as  the 
most  captivating  person  that  had  ever  been  seen 
in  Italy.  She  was  the  daughter  of  Messer  Claudio 
Accoramboni,  one  of  the  nobles  of  Gubbio,  a  scion 
of  an  ancient  but  undistinguished  family.     Like 

21 


320    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

most  of  the  men  of  his  time,  he  was  a  soldier, — it 
was  the  universal  role, — but  in  periods  of  peace 
and  rest  from  adventure  he  bestowed  his  time  and 
means  in  studies,  craftic  and  artistic.  Vittoria 
was  the  tenth  child  of  her  parents,  and  her  mother, 
— worthy  Donna  Tarquinea, — with  almost  Spar- 
tan severity,  determined  that  her  offspring  should 
be  placed  out  in  the  world  as  soon  as  ever  they 
reached  reasonable  ages — "to  improve  their 
fortunes,"  as  she  quaintly  expressed  it.  Accord- 
ingly, little  Vittoria,  on  her  tAvelfth  birthday,  was 
sent  off  to  her  eldest  brother,  MarceUo,  who  was 
established  in  Rome. 

The  young  girl  grew  up  lovely  and  chaste — the 
admiration  and  envy  of  her  companions,  and  the 
cynosure  of  many  amorous  eyes.  At  sixteen  she 
was  affianced  to  young  Francesco  Peretti,  the 
favourite  nephew  of  Frate  Felice,  who  eventuaUy 
became  Cardinal  di  Montalto.  This  aspiring 
ecclesiastic  had  acquired  great  wealth  in  the  busi- 
ness-like exploitation  of  fat  livings  and  rich 
bishoprics.  The  Peretti  family  was  poor,  but 
the  Frate  encouraged  the  match,  although  he 
was  himself,  it  was  hinted,  smitten  with  the 
young  debutante's  charms.  He  eventually  set  the 
young  couple  well  up  in  the  world,  and  encouraged 
them  to  mix  with  the  great  ones  of  the  Pontifical 
Court.  Whilst  every  courtier  and  gallant  raved 
over  Vittoria' s  beauty, — much  to  the  embarrass- 


"  BENACO  "  S21 

ment  of  Francesco, — the  young  couple  speedily 
found  themselves  heavily  in  debt.  Dress  and 
pleasure  and  consorting  with  richer  people  are 
concomitants  of  financial  straits  the  world  over, 
and,  in  spite  of  their  early  devotion  to  one  another, 
temptation  loosened  their  marital  bonds.  What 
young  wife's  head  would  not  naturally  be  turned 
by  such  encomiums  as  the  following  lines,  written 
in  1681  : 

*'  Nor  nymph,  nor  goddess  thou,  but  woman  born. 

None,  fair  Vittoria,  doth  thy  grace  exceed. 
In  utmost  worth  thy  charms  none  else  adorn. 

Moved  by  the  sight  of  thee  I  stand  aggriev'd 
That  thou,  Mistress  of  thy  heart,  may  not  be  mine." 

No  child  came  to  bless  the  marriage  bond,  but 
tongues  of  gossip  were  unloosed,  whilst  many  an 
evil-guided  finger  pointed  from  Francesco  to  the 
admirers  and  lovers  of  his  wife,  and  rested  signifi- 
cantly upon  no  less  a  personage  than  Cardinal 
Famese — the  boon  companion  of  Montalto.  Mat- 
ters drifted  from  bad  to  worse.  Living  with  their 
uncle,  Francesco  and  Vittoria  became  dependent 
entirely  upon  his  benevolence,  but  Vittoria  saw 
the  risk  she  ran,  and  warned  Francesco  to  be 
vigilant.  One  pair  of  eyes  in  particular  fastened 
themselves  sympathetically  upon  the  lovely  young 
bride.  They  belonged  to  a  noble  of  high  degree — 
a  Prince  indeed,  a  widower,  wealthy  more  than 
most,    and   perfectly   unscrupulous.     Five   years 


322    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

before, — as  rumour,  only  too  correct,  had  it, — 
he  had  strangled  his  Medici  wife, — Isabella,  the 
lovely  eldest  daughter  of  Cosimo  I.,  Grand 
Duke  of  Florence, — at  the  Florentine  villa  of 
Baroncelli.  Whether  Vittoria  Peretti  knew  the 
details  of  that  tragedy  one  cannot  say,  but  when 
Paolo  Giordano  Orsini,  Duke  of  Bracciano,  pre- 
vailed upon  her  to  quit  the  palace  of  Cardinal 
Montalto, — where  dangers  unknown  surrounded 
her, — and  take  refuge  under  his  roof,  she  acceded 
to  the  temptation,  but  at  what  a  terrible  cost ! 
The  night  after  her  flight  Francesco  Peretti  was 
discovered  dying — stabbed  to  the  heart.  By 
whose  order,  or  by  whose  hand,  the  deed  was  done 
none  have  certainly  recorded,  nor  has  anybody 
told  us  what  effect  that  horror  had  upon  the 
youthful  widow. 

A  very  plausible  story  was  rife  at  the  time — to 
the  effect  that  Marcello  Accoramboni,  Vittoria' s 
brother,  had  compassed  the  murder.  He  had  not 
disguised  his  displeasure  at  his  sister's  marriage 
to  Francesco  Peretti,  a  poor  man,  dependent  upon 
an  unstable  man  of  the  world,  the  fickle  Cardinal 
di  Montalto.  As  soon  as  he  was  conversant  with 
the  Duke  of  Bracciano's  admiration  for  Vittoria, 
the  story  goes,  he  considered  every  possible  means 
of  securing  a  separation.  As  wife  of  the  most 
splendid  Prince  in  Rome, — with  a  record  of  heroic 
deeds  upon  the  mad  battle-field, — Vittoria  would 


"  BENACO  "  323 

indeed  be  able  to  lift  her  family,  and  Marcello  in 
particular,  to  affluence  and  honour.  Well,  late 
one  night  Marcello  sent  a  missive  secretly, — his 
own  liberty,  indeed,  was  at  stake,  for  he  had  been 
outlawed  for  killing,  perhaps  accidentally,  young 
Francesco  Giovanni  Pallavicino, — to  Francesco 
Peretti,  begging  him  to  meet  him  at  a  lonely  spot 
outside  the  Porta  Giulia.  He  had,  he  said,  an 
important  communication  to  make  to  him.  Donna 
Peretti  and  Elizabetta, — Francesco's  mother  and 
sister, — in  vain  dissuaded  him,  but  he  went,  in 
spite  of  their  tears  and  entreaties.  The  unhappy 
young  man  was  attacked  by  bravi,  and  fell. 
That  Bracciano  had  a  hand  in  the  assassina- 
tion is  more  than  likely,  for  Marcello  Accoram- 
boni  was  an  assistant-chamberlain  in  the  Ducal 
household,  and  held  very  especially  his  master's 
confidence. 

Of  course,  intelligence  of  the  foul  deed  was  cir- 
culated everywhere,  and  reached  at  length  the 
ears  of  the  Pontiff,  Gregory  XTII.,  who  at  once 
intervened  in  the  interest  of  his  brother-Cardinal, 
Montalto.  Vittoria  Peretti  was  taken  by  Papal 
command  out  of  the  care  of  the  Duke,  and  con- 
fined for  a  whole  twelvemonth  within  the  Castle 
of  St.  Angelo.  She  soon  dried  her  tears,  for, 
although  her  heart  was  sad  at  Francesco's  terrible 
death,  there  had  been  no  real  love  between  them  ; 
she  had  borne  her  husband  no  child,  and  they  had 


324    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

lived  separate  lives.  Whilst  in  seclusion  a  priest, 
— presumably  in  the  pay  of  the  Duke  of  Bracciano, 
■ — paid  the  comely  captive  visits,  solicitous  for  her 
spiritual  welfare.  He  told  her  how  deeply  the 
Duke  felt  her  present  distress,  and  how  he  was 
only  too  ready  to  adopt  any  plan  which  would 
set  her  at  liberty  and  provide  for  her  future.  Very 
circumspectly  this  priestly  visitor  brought  Vit- 
toria  to  regard  his  master  as  personally  devoted 
to  her,  and  anxious  to  make  her  his  wife.  Vittoria 
resented  the  advice,  adducing  the  inequality  of 
station  and  the  uncertainty  of  the  Duke's  fidehty. 
At  last  the  adroit  confessor  alleged  that  the  Duke 
had  made  a  vow,  in  his  hearing,  before  Francesco 
Peretti's  death,  to  the  effect  that  he  would  marry 
Vittoria  should  she  ever  become  a  widow.  Spiritual 
counsels  prevailed,  and  a  secret  marriage  was 
effected  within  the  fortress.  Then  Bracciano  left 
Rome  for  a  time,  and  Vittoria,  dreading  the  fury 
of  Cardinal  di  Montalto,  was  minded  to  commit 
suicide.  Nevv^s  of  the  marriage  speedily  stole  out : 
the  complacent  priest  was  unfrocked,  and  Vit- 
toria's  imprisonment  became  more  rigorous. 

The  death  of  Gregory  in  1585  raised  the  Car- 
dinal di  Montalto  to  the  Papal  throne  as  Sixtus  V., 
and  during  the  engrossing  ceremonies  of  the  elec- 
tion, the  Duke  of  Bracciano  returned  to  Rome, 
rescued  Vittoria  from  her  prison,  and  carried  her 
off  to  his  estates  at  Bracciano.     This  property 


SCIARRA    CESARESCO-MARTINENGO 

ALESSANDRO   MORETTO 

National   Gallery,  London 


To  face  page  324 


"  BENACO  "  325 

had  been  bestowed  upon  Duke  Paolo  Giordano's 
father,  Signore  Girolamo  d'  Orsini,  by  Papal 
favour,  and  was  held  as  a  Papal  fief.  Conse- 
quently, when  the  new  Pope  directed  proceedings 
to  be  taken  against  the  Duke,  he,  like  the  wise 
and  cunning  man  that  he  was,  took  flight  from 
Civita  Vecchia  with  his  young  wife, — she  was 
twenty-four  years  his  junior, — and  stayed  not  his 
course  until  his  feet  trod  Venetian  soil, — the  soil 
of  the  shores  of  Lake  Garda. 

The  Ducal  refugees  made  their  home  within 
the  Martinengo  Palazzo  called  "  Barbarano  "  at 
Salo — a  new  edifice,  built  in  1577  by  the  Mar- 
chese  Sforza  Pallavicini,  the  Generalissimo  of  the 
armies  of  Venice, — filled  with  treasures  of  all  kinds, 
and  famous  for  its  lovely  gardens.  There  the 
Duke  lived  in  sumptuous  style,  and  the  Duchess 
became  the  centre  of  a  brilliant  Court, — appar- 
ently Marcello  Accoramboni  had  received  his  re- 
ward !  The  pageant  was  brief,  for,  in  five  months 
after  the  arrival  of  the  distinguished  fugitives, 
the  Duke  died  suddenly,  November  13,  1585, 
leaving  all  he  possessed  to  Vittoria.  Overcome 
with  grief,  she  ordered  his  body  to  be  embalmed 
and  buried  in  the  Church  of  the  Capuchins,  at 
Salo,  where  she  erected  a  splendid  monument  to 
his  memory.  One  direction  in  her  bequest  to  the 
clergy  was  significant  and  touching.  She  for- 
bad entry  into  the  memorial  chapel  to  everyone 


326    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

except  to  Virginio — the  Duke's  only  child  by 
Isabella  de'  Medici. 

In  the  name  of  this  youth,  his  uncle,  the  Grand 
Duke  Ferdinando  I.  of  Tuscany,  claimed  the 
whole  of  the  Bracciano  property,  and  proceeded 
at  once  to  depute  his  representatives  to  enter 
upon  the  palace  at  Salo  and  seize  its  appoint- 
ments, disowning  and  denouncing  the  Duchess 
as  an  intruder  and  impostor.  The  facts  of  the 
Duke's  death  were  never  made  public,  but  it  was 
the  universal  impression  that  the  Pope  and  the 
Grand  Duke  were  in  full  accord,  and  greatly 
pleased  by  that  tragedy.  Anyhow,  a  course  of 
action,  prompted  by  them,  was  adopted  towards 
the  widowed  Duchess,  which  amounted  in  virulence 
to  a  vendetta. 

Very,  very  sadly  Vittoria  left  Salo  within  a 
twelvemonth,  and  although  her  connection  with 
the  Lake  of  Garda  practically  ceased,  it  may  not 
be  uninteresting  to  follow  her  career,  as  one  of 
the  most  beautiful  and  most  unfortunate  ''  Ladies 
of  the  Lake."  She  rejoiced  in  the  peace  and 
happiness,  the  beauty  and  the  salubrity,  of  that 
lovely  expanse  of  storied  water.  Alas  !  she  never 
saw  its  brilliance  again,  though  she  repeatedly 
spoke  of  the  fascination  which  stole  over  her 
during  those  brief  joy  months  in  1585.  The 
Duchess  settled  at  Padua,  where  she  resided  in  "  a 
sweet  old  palace,"  as  she  calls  it,  and  observed 


"  BENACO  "  327 

the  strictest  retirement,  with  a  very  limited 
household.  Still  young  and  surpassingly  beauti- 
ful, her  life  was  surrounded  with  a  halo  of  pathos 
which  found  expression  in  poetry  and  song.  The 
sadness  of  her  existence  speaks  eloquently  in  the 
words  she  uttered  : 

"  Weep,  weep,  my  grieving  eyes, 
Till  life  itself  is  dissolved  in  tears." 

Very  many  poems  of  hers  she  made  public,  under 

the  name  of  ''  Virginia  N "  In  one,  "  Lamentadi 

di  F.  iV.,"  she  deplores  the  unhappy  death  of 
Francesco  Peretti. 

Flaminio  Accoramboni,  Vittoria's  youngest 
brother,  joined  her  at  Padua,  and  Marcello  fol- 
lowed him,  only  once  more  to  display  his  rashness 
of  temper  and  greatly  embarrass  his  sister.  It 
was  said  that  the  death  of  poor  Giovanni  Balbi, — 
one  of  the  young  Duchess's  faithful  retainers, — 
was  due  to  Marcello  Accoramboni.  The  man 
owed  him  a  consderable  sum  of  money,  and, 
being  unable  to  pay,  the  irascible  Cavaliere  struck 
him  a  blow,  which  ended  fataUy.  Be  this  as  it 
may,  still  another  person  arrived  in  Padua  who 
was  greatly  interested  in  the  concerns  of  Duchess 
Vittoria — Lodovico  Orsini, — a  near  kinsman  of 
the  Duke.  His  presence,  he  pretended,  was  called 
for  to  consider  certain  provisions  of  the  Duke's 
will,  with  a  view  to  an  amicable  settlement  with 
the  Duchess.     He  stated  that  the  Pope, — Mon- 


328    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

talto, — was  about  to  declare  the  second  marriage 
of  the  Duke  of  Bracciano  void,  and,  further,  had 
the  intention  of  quashing  the  Duke's  will.  He 
proposed  that  Vittoria  should  carefully  consider 
the  position  of  affairs,  and  agree  to  some  arrange- 
ment by  which  she  would  retain  all  her  own  per- 
sonal property  and  certain  properties  of  the 
Duke,  but  should  relinquish  her  assumed  rights  to 
the  bulk  of  the  estate.  This  Orsini  was  a  man  in 
a  high  position  ;  he  had  been  Governor  of  Corhi 
under  the  Venetian  Senate,  and  had  been  just 
appointed  to  a  similar  position  over  the  shores  of 
the  Lake  of  Garda. 

Vittoria  met  her  husband's  relative  with  her 
usual  charming  affability,  and, — whilst  she  ac- 
knowledged the  claims  of  young  Virginio  Medici- 
Orsini, — she  positively  refused  to  surrender  her 
own  rights  as  widow  of  her  husband.  It  was 
said  that  she  had  made  up  her  mind  to  name  the 
lad  her  heir  before  the  visit  of  Lodovico  Orsini. 
Orsini,  on  his  part,  made  the  most  of  Marcello's 
intervention,  and  demanded  his  departure  from 
Padua.  Vittoria  stood  by  her  brother,  and  then 
Orsini  insisted  upon  the  Duchess  then  and  there 
rendering  up  to  him  the  costly  decorations  the 
Duke  had  worn.  Vittoria,  roused  to  indignation, 
dismissed  the  disturber  of  her  peace,  and  forbade 
him  her  presence.  This  was  apparently  just  what 
Orsini  wanted. 


"  BENACO  "  329 

The  next  step  was  as  unexpected  as  it  was 
tragical.  On  December  22, — the  eve  of  St.  Vit- 
toria, — the  Duchess  received  the  Communion,  and 
spent  the  day  pleasantly  with  a  few  companions 
at  the  palace.  Evening  came,  and  she  sought 
her  chamber,  where,  pacing  to  and  fro,  she  sang 
Miserere  softly  to  herself,  and  then  dropped  her 
beads  before  retiring  for  the  night.  Suddenly 
twenty  masked  hravi  rushed  up  the  stairs  with 
flaming  torches,  lead  by  one  Conte  Paganello — an 
out-of-elbows  nobleman,  and  anybody's  tool  for 
a  liberal  consideration.  Flaminio,  whose  room 
adjoined  his  sister's,  threw  himself  upon  the 
first  ruffian,  but  was  promptly  run  through  by 
many  rapiers,  and,  crawling  into  Vittoria's  room, 
lay  dying  at  the  foot  of  her  couch.  Vittoria  her- 
self, hearing  the  tumult,  and  ever  suspicious  of 
foul  play,  had  risen  and  was  kneeling  before  the 
crucifix.  Paganello  seized  her,  tore  off  her  breast- 
kerchief,  which  he  wound  round  her  neck.  Vit- 
toria raised  her  hands  and  spoke :  "I  freely 
pardon  thee  and  these  thy  men,  but  let  me  die 
clothed  decently."  She  had  no  shrift,  for  every 
villain's  sword  was  thrust  into  her  back  and  chest, 
whilst  they  uttered  obscene  jests.  Their  innocent 
victim  fell  prone,  and,  as  her  life's  blood  stained 
the  carpet,  she  cried,  dying  :  "  Jesus,  Jesus, 
pardon  !" 

All  Padua  flocked  to  see  her  lying-in-state  with- 


330    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

in  the  choir  of  the  thirteenth-century  Augustinian 
Church  of  the  Eremitani, — where  the  Bishop  of 
Fossombrone  preached  a  funeral  sermon,  wherein 
he  lauded  Vittoria's  modesty,  prudence,  goodness, 
and  dignity.  As  for  Lodovico  Orsini,  the  Serene 
Republic  had  him  strangled,  Paganello  was  killed 
with  the  dagger  he  had  thrust  into  Vittoria's 
heart,  and  aU  the  accomplices  were  captured  and 
put  to  death.  That  was  a  sad,  sad  Christmas  at 
Said  and  Padua.  In  the  city  men  and  women 
went  about  with  bowed  heads.  They  had  learned, 
in  the  short  time  of  Vittoria's  residence  in  their 
midst,  to  sympathize  with  her  sad  career,  and  to 
admire  her  gentle  virtues.  To  her  devoted  re- 
tainers at  Salo,  and  the  peasants  of  the  country- 
side, with  busy  fishermen,  her  terrible  end  gave 
pangs  of  sorrow.  Simple-hearted  in  their  respect 
and  love,  they  were  true  mourners  of  their  castel- 
lana's  death.  It  was  winter,  and  the  feast  was 
that  of  the  Nativity,  and  better-minded  people 
were  chastened  in  their  joy.  Such  tragedies,  alas  ! 
were  frequent  in  those  wild,  sensuous  days  ;  but 
each  one  gave  pause,  and  made  for  prayer  for 
souls  in  purgatory.  "  Requiescat  in  pace — Sig- 
nor  a  Vittoria — Miser  cordia  Jesu.'' 


"  BENACO  '*  331 

II. 

Among  the  famous  "  Lords  and  Ladies  of  the 
Italian  Lakes  "  none  has  graced  the  story  of  the 
Lake  of  Garda  more  vividly  than  Isabella  d'  Este, 
wife  of  Marquis  Gian  Francesco  Gonzaga  of  Man- 
tua. The  enchantment  of  that  bewitching  mirror 
of  the  beauties  of  Nature  and  art  seized  on  the 
fair  Marchioness's  soul  and  body,  and  she  revelled 
in  the  charms  of  its  buoyant  waves  and  its  fairy 
riviera.  Not  once,  but  many  times,  she  fled  from 
the  allurements  of  the  gay  and  gossipy  Mantuan 
Court  to  find  refreshment  and  relaxation.  One 
such  jaunt  she  took  in  company  with  her  best- 
loved  friend,  Elizabetta,  Duchess  of  Urbino,  and 
she  has  recorded  her  impressions  in  one  of  her 
graphic  letters  to  her  husband.  Writing  on 
March  18,  1492,  to  the  Duke, — they  had  been 
married  two  years  before, — she  says :  "  The 
Duchess  of  Urbino  and  I,  together  with  the 
fascinating  wife  of  Signore  Tracassa,  went  to  dine 
at  Desenzano,  and  thence  to  Toscolano  to  supper, 
where  we  spent  the  night.  We  greatly  enjoyed 
the  sight  of  the  lovely  riviera.  On  Friday  we 
returned  to  Sirmione  by  boat,  and  then  we  rode 
together  in  the  country.  Wherever  we  went  we 
were  warmly  received  and  treated  with  the  greatest 
consideration,  most  of  all  by  the  Captain  of  the 
Lake,  who  loaded  us  with  delicious  fish  and  other 


332    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

delicacies.  The  good  people  of  Salo  sent  us  many 
goodly  presents.  To-morrow  we  are  going  to 
Goito,  and  from  there  we  shaU  return  to  Man- 
tua. ..." 

The  two  Princesses  were  ideal  companions. 
Duchess  Elizabetta  was  nineteen  years  of  age, 
and  Marchioness  Isabella  just  seventeen.  Whilst 
the  former  was  somewhat  delicate  and  grave 
beyond  her  years,  sweet  and  good,  if  somewhat 
plain,  Isabella  was  robust  and  lovely,  a  briUiant 
conversationalist,  witty  and  talented  in  piquant 
repartee.  One  foiled  the  other :  together  they 
sang  saucy  French  songs,  and  read  the  latest 
Italian  romances.  They  were  never  tired  of 
playing  Scartino, — the  card-game  then  most  in 
vogue, — or  of  strumming  well-strung  guitars. 
They  rode  and  walked,  and  rowed  and  swam — 
sometimes  quite  alone,  or  at  most  with  a  single 
lady  of  their  suites.  They  also  spent  much  time 
quite  characteristically  in  the  mysteries  of  the 
toilet,  and  in  conning  over  such  fashion-plates 
as  those  early  days  of  sartorial  literature  afforded. 
One  of  their  favourite  conceits  was  to  attire 
themselves  in  similarly  cut  costumes,  but  graded 
in  colours  to  suit  their  dissimilar  physical  charms — 
Duchess  Elizabetta,  as  became  a  brunette,  in  the 
deeper  shades  and  more  stately  passementerie,  the 
Marchioness  in  lighter  tones  and  trimmings,  to 
suit  her  blonde  hair  and  fair  complexion. 


ISABELLA    D      ESTE-GONZAGA,    MARCHIONESS    OF    MANTUA 
VECELLIO    TIZIANO 

Imperial  Museum,    Vienna 


To  face  page  332 


"  BENACO  '*  •  333 

Writing  from  Cavriana, — another  of  the  Mar- 
quis's country  villas,  near  Mantua, — Stefano  Sicco, 
chamberlain  to  the  Marchioness,  records  the  happy 
life  his  mistress  and  her  devoted  companion 
spent  in  country  pleasures.  "  These  Madonnas," 
he  says,  "  be  indefatigable  in  making  excursions 
by  boat  and  on  horseback,  and  they  have  visited 
all  the  lovely  gardens  on  the  lake  with  the  greatest 
delight.  The  inhabitants  vie  with  one  another  in 
doing  them  honour.  One  worthy  gentleman, 
Signore  Fermo  of  Caravago,  caused  his  larder  to 
be  depleted  for  Her  Excellency,  and  stripped  his 
lemon  and  pomegranate  trees  of  all  their  fruit  for 
her  behoof." 

The  Marchioness's  second  visit  to  her  favourite 
Garda  was  with  many  ladies  of  her  suite,  and  she 
occupied,  for  quite  a  long  time,  the  lake-side  resi- 
dence of  the  archpriest  of  Toscolano.  His  be- 
witching gardens  appealed  to  her  passionate  love 
of  the  beautiful,  whilst  the  views  thence  over  land 
and  lake  fascinated  her  spirit  of  romance.  She 
wrote  frequently  to  her  friend  the  Duchess,  telling 
her  how  greatly  she  was  enjoying  the  delights  of 
her  surroundings,  and  indulging,  much  to  her 
content,  in  delicious  fruit  and  fish,  ravished  by 
the  scent  of  exquisite  flowers  and  the  sweet  songs 
of  birds.  Of  none  of  the  many  excursions  she 
made  to  the  Lake  of  Garda  has  the  chatty  Mar- 
chioness left  more  pleasant  narratives  than  of  a 


334    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

visit  she  paid  to  Sirmione,  Salo,  and  the  riviera  of 
Gardone  in  1535.  She  was  accompanied  by  a 
numerous  suite  of  ladies  and  courtiers  ;  indeed, 
this  journey  partook  of  the  circumstance  of  a 
royal  progress.  The  send-off  of  the  party  was  from 
Cavriana,  and  upon  the  box-seat  of  her  chariot 
rode,  by  the  driver,  her  favourite  dwarf,  Morgan- 
tino.  The  elements  were  unpropitious  for  the 
course  to  Desenzano  :  a  heavy  downpour  of  rain 
wetted  the  poor  little  man  to  the  skin,  and  then 
he  was  dragged  inside  the  vehicle  and  sat  on 
Isabella's  knee — "trussed  up,"  as  she  laugh- 
ingly said,  "  like  a  spring  chicken  !"  Wherever 
horses  were  changed,  and  many  times  a  day,  in 
that  lovely  Garda-land,  the  clever  little  mortal 
delighted  the  country  yokels  and  the  staider  town- 
folks  by  dancing  "  morescas  "  upon  the  greensward 
or  upon  the  sandy  beach,  the  Marchioness  and 
her  entourage  beating  time  the  while,  and  enjoying 
the  merriment  with  the  merriest.  The  peasants 
wove  garlands  of  flowers,  and  decked  the  midget's 
neck  and  head,  and  this  dehghted  the  jolly  young 
Marchioness  exceedingly,  for  she  invariably  de- 
tached from  her  cincture  her  jewelled  money- 
bag, and  caused  its  contents  to  be  distributed  by 
way  of  scrambling.  Then  the  fun  grew  fast  and 
furious,  until  the  Court  and  its  chief  lady  flung 
themselves  in  convulsive  laughter  under  the  trees 
or   upon   any   ready  couch   or   seat  !     Overhead 


"  BENACO  "  335 

feathered  songsters  and  gay  butterflies  and  bees 
flecked  the  cerulean  sky  with  flashing  cross-lights, 
and  all  the  scents  of  fertile  Mother-Earth  were 
expressed  by  sun  and  breeze  for  the  delectation  of 
the  delighted  company. 

From  Sirmione  the  Marchioness  wrote  to  her 
consort  in  Mantua  :  "  I  am  as  happy  as  happy  can 
be  in  this  Paradise.  ...  I  am  perfectly  sure 
that  we  ought  to  build  a  fine  villa  here,  for  this  is 
the  most  beautiful  spot  in  all  God's  wide  world. 
...  I  will  not  hide  from  you  that  I  have  taken 
bodily  possession  of  this  charming  spot,  for,  in 
descending  a  flight  of  steps  at  the  castle  which 
were  wet  after  a  shower,  I  lost  my  footing  and 
fell  awkwardly,  but,  fortunately,  without  receiving 
serious  damage.  I  was  talking  to  the  reverend 
Pievano  at  the  time,  and  he  made  me  laugh,  after 
he  had  assisted  me  to  regain  my  feet,  by  a  ridicu- 
lously flowery  speech,  in  which  he  said  that  per- 
haps my  fall  was  due  to  my  excessive  admiration 
for  the  beauty  of  the  view  !  The  situation  of  the 
castle  is  splendid,  but  the  rooms  are  so  small  and 
dark  that  I  have  taken  up  my  quarters  in  the 
priest's  house,  where  I  have  one  large,  lofty  room, 
wherein  I  sleep  and  eat.  So  really,  you  see,  there 
is  need  for  you  to  make  haste  and  build  a  goodly 
suite  of  apartments.  .  .  .  One  of  my  maidens 
has  also  followed  my  example  and  come  in  contact 

22 


336    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

roughly  with  Mother-Earth.  She  has  taken  pos- 
session of  Lonato,  a  very  lovely  spot  near  Desen- 
zano  ;  for  the  mule  which  Livia  was  riding  on  the 
way  to  Morgusano  ran  away,  and  the  poor  girl 
fell  off,  one  foot  remaining  in  the  stirrup.  She 
was  dragged  some  distance,  and  presented  a 
ridiculous  appearance ;  but,  had  it  not  been  for 
some  worthy  peasants  who  stopped  the  animal, 
she  must  have  come  to  great  hurt.  Travelling 
would  be,  as  you  will  readily  understand,  very 
dull  if  such  absurd  accidents  did  not  occur  to  vary 
the  tedium  occasionally.  .  .  .  My  headache  and 
sore  throat  have  almost  gone,  and  so  I  hope  to 
enjoy  this  lovely  land  thoroughly  once  more." 

Then  the  fair  traveller  urges  the  Marquis  to 
join  her,  and  let  affairs  of  State  take  their  own 
course,  and  she  continues  her  eulogies.  "  Yester- 
day," she  writes,  "  I  climbed  the  hill  to  see  the 
Roman  ruins,  and  entered  the  grottos,  and  fuUy 
examined  all  of  them.  They  are  indeed  marvel- 
lous and  very  striking  for  one  who,  like  myself, 
has  never  been  to  Rome.  I  do  not  in  the  least 
wonder  that  the  Romans  loved  this  place  and 
chose  it  for  their  viUas.  ...  If  God  gives  your 
Excellency  good  health,  and  we  are  able  to  come 
here  together  and  enjoy  fully  the  peace  and 
pleasure,  then  we  shall  certainly  build  a  Casino  for 
social  delights  and  domestic  pleasures." 

This  most  interesting  and  lengthy  epistle  goes 


"  BENACO  "  337 

on  still — a  prolific  record  of  human  enjoyment ! 
"  To-day  I  have  been,"  the  Marchioness  writes, 
"  to  Peschiera,  stopping  by  the  way  to  visit  the 
Madonna  della  Pergolana,  who  graciously  works 
many  miracles.  I  saw  many  images  and  ex  votos, 
and  the  beginnings  of  a  fine  church,  wherein  I 
prayed  for  your  Excellency's  health.  Afterwards 
I  rode  through  the  town,  and  met  the  Spanish 
castellano,  who  most  courteously  escorted  me  into 
the  castle.  He  had  only  twelve  men-at-arms, 
and  they  were  of  such  small  stature  that  I  verily 
believe  I,  with  my  ladies,  could  most  easily  have 
taken  them  all  prisoners  and  made  myself  mistress 
of  the  place  !  .  .  .  To-morrow  I  propose  to  pay 
a  visit  to  the  island  monastery  of  the  Minor  Friars, 
and  then  go  on  to  Salo  to  sleep.  .  .  ." 

The  next  letter  to  the  Marquis  describes  Isa- 
bella's visit  to  the  Franciscan  brethren  on  the 
Isola  di  Garda, — or,  as  she  calls  it  after  the  com- 
mon use, — "  Isola  de'  Frati''  "  The  Friars,"  she 
writes,  "  welcomed  me  very  warmly,  and  the 
Spanish  Captain  of  Salo,  Guglielmo  de  Castiglio, — 
a  chamberlain  and  creature  of  the  Viceroy, — came 
there  to  greet  me,  accompanied  by  many  soldiers 
and  civilians  in  boats.  He  made  me  most  cour- 
teous offers  of  service.  I  took  him  and  another 
Spanish  officer  off  in  my  barge,  whilst  more  than 
twenty  boats,  heavily  laden,  followed  in  our  wake. 
There  was  an  extraordinary  beating  of  drums  and 


338    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

blowing  of  horns,  and  piercing  shouts  of  '  Turco  I 
Gonzaga  !  Isabella  /'  Thus  escorted,  I  rowed  to 
Said  under  the  shore  to  see  the  enchanting  view. 
I  landed  at  the  Town  Hall  steps,  where  I  was 
saluted  ceremoniously  by  the  Captain  of  the 
town,  and  vociferously  by  the  immense  crowd  of 
people  who  had  gathered  there — so  much  so  that 
I  felt  completely  bewildered.  Both  at  the  Town 
Hall  and  under  the  open  loggia  by  the  lake-side 
we  were  overwhelmed  with  gifts  from  the  kindly 
townspeople  of  baskets  of  apples,  pears,  and 
grapes,  boxes  of  sweetmeats,  marzipan,  wax,  and 
confetti,  and  large  dishes  of  every  kind  of  fish. 
The  Sindaco  made  me  a  long  and  eloquent  speech, 
to  which  I  cordially  replied,  with  my  compliments, 
on  behalf  of  your  Excellency,  in  whose  name,  of 
course,  these  honours  were  paid  me :  perhaps  we 
may  see  the  day  when  it  wiU  be  very  useful  to 
have  these  well-disposed  people  for  our  friends  ! 
To-day  I  am  staying  here  to  see  the  place  and 
visit  the  monastery.  To-morrow  I  have  deter- 
mined to  drive  to  Gardone  and  on  to  Toscolano 
to  behold  once  more  the  lovely  gardens.  If  it  is 
fine,  I  shall  return  to  the  monastery  by  water. 
On  Saturday,  being  the  Feast  of  the  Annuncia- 
tion, I  shall  attend  Mass  with  the  nuns.  On 
Sunday  I  mean  to  row  across  the  lake,  and  sleep, 
if  possible,  at  Laciso,  in  order  to  see  that  side ; 
and  on  Monday  I  shall  be  at  Peschiera,  and  on 


"  BENACO  "  339 

my  way  back  to  you  and  Mantua.  I  will  say  no 
more,  only  that  each  time  I  see  another  lovely 
spot  I  wish  most  heartily  that  you  may  be  in 
sound  health,  and  some  day  soon  come  here  with 
me." 

At  Salo,  on  that  very  Lady  Day,  the  Marchioness 
received  a  gift  she  greatly  prized  from  Giangiorgio 
Trissino,  a  Vicenzaese  poet-friend  of  Cardinal 
Bembo.  The  gift  in  question  was  his  "  Ritratti 
delle  Donne  d'  Italia,^ ^  in  which  he  pays  Isabella 
ecstatic  homage.  He  had  first  been  presented  to 
her  seven  years  before,  in  1507,  at  her  Court  in 
Mantua,  and  she  had  stood  his  friend  when  his 
fellow-townsmen  outlawed  him  and  drove  him 
from  his  home. 

This  mention  of  Trissino  recalls  a  romance  in 
which  he  figures — a  romance  of  the  Lake  of  Garda. 
Among  fair  and  frail  travellers  by  boat  and  road 
was  Donna  Margherita  Pia,  sister  of  Emilia  Pia 
da  Carpi  and  of  Alda  Pia — the  mother  of  Veronica 
Gambara.  After  the  death  of  her  first  husband — 
Antonio  di  Sanseverino — Trissino  wooed  her  for 
many  weary  years,  all  to  no  purpose.  She  pro- 
fessed to  return  his  devotion,  and  in  his  absence 
bewailed  herself  as  "La  Margherita  la  Infeli- 
cissima,''  She  refused  to  exchange  a  state  of 
platonic  love  for  the  blessed  bond  of  matrimony. 
Trissino  died  at  last,  and  then  Margherita  buried 
herseK  in  a  convent  near  Salo,  dead  to  the  world 


340    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

and  all  save  Giangiorgio's  memory.  It  is  but 
true  to  say,  however,  Trissino  was  an  inconstant 
fellow,  for  he  had  all  the  time  another  innamorata 
— the  widowed  Duchess  of  Sora — Margherita  Can- 
telina,  who  was  in  the  suite  of  Marchioness  Isa- 
bella during  her  romantic  visits  to  the  Lake  of 
Garda.  She  it  was  who  first  told  her  mistress  of 
Trissino' s  "  Ritratti,'^  as  they  were  rowed  across 
the  lake  one  day.  It  was  just  the  sort  of  book  to 
delight  a  woman  of  the  Marchioness's  tempera- 
ment :  it  set  forth  in  glowing  colours  a  symposium 
of  fair  women  and  true — much  after  the  manner 
of  Count  Baldassare  Castiglione's  "  II  Cortigiano.'''' 
The  "  Lady "  of  Trissino's  imagination  was,  of 
course,  none  other  than  his  gracious  patroness, — 
the  Marchioness  of  Mantua, — in  the  description  of 
whose  charms  of  mind  and  body  he  quoted 
Petrarca's  apt  metaphor  : 

*'  Una  Donna  piu  hella — assai  die  'I  sole.''* 

Among  the  sententious  speakers  in  the  sym- 
posia was  Pietro  Bembo,  in  fancy,  and  he  thus 
extols  Isabella  :  "I  know  her  very  well  indeed — 
Isabella,  Marchioness  of  Mantua.  I  know  all  her 
charms.  Truly  the  gods  have  bestowed  upon  her 
all  the  storied  gifts  of  the  sacred  Muses.  She  is 
a  profound  lover  of  poetry,  as  becomes  the  ruler 
of  Virgil's  own  country."     Then  the  speaker  goes 

*  "  A  Lady  as  fascinating  as  the  Sun  !" 


"  BENACO  ''  341 

on  to  describe  the  person  of  his  heroine,  and  the 
glories  of  her  palace,  with  its  "  dear  little  rooms 
full  of  rare  books,  pictures,  sculptures,  cameos, 
and  gems.  .  .  .  She  is  a  woman  to  see  once, 
maybe,  but  to  love  for  ever.  ..." 

Isabella  wrote  to  Trissino  that  happy  Lady 
Day  her  best  thanks,  and  called  him  "  II  mio 
magnifico  amico''  "  Your  letter  and  verses  and 
the  delightful  little  book  could  not  have  found  me 
in  a  fairer  or  more  suitable  spot  than  the  riviera 
of  Garda,  where  we  now  are,  and  free  to  give  up 
ourselves  unreservedly  to  the  delights  of  medita- 
tion and  poetasting." 

The  same  day — March  28th,  1514 — Isabella  also 
wrote  to  the  Marquis — still  in  Mantua  :  "  Yester- 
day I  was  at  Grignone,  where  the  inhabitants 
entertained  me  with  delightful  gifts  of  fish  and 
fruit,  but  where  I  had  also  to  listen  in  the  best 
fashion  I  could  to  a  very  tiresome  oration  by  a 
pedant  in  most  stilted  language.  All  along  the 
riviera  they  have  received  me  with  regal  honours, 
and  have  addressed  me  as  '  Magnifica  Signora.' 
.  .  .  To-morrow  we  go  back  to  Sirmione.  I  have 
given  up  Laciso  because  it  was  impossible  to  find 
suitable  accommodation  for  my  ladies."  It  was 
at  Sirmione  that  the  Marchioness  addressed  her 
last  letter  from  Garda  to  her  consort :  "  The 
Governor  of  the  Commune,"  she  says,  "  accom- 
panied me  to  Salo  with  two  well-found  boats,  and 


342    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

very  handsomely  treated  the  members  of  my 
suite.  To-day  has  not  been  without  happenings ; 
for  example,  my  good-looking  page  Rodolfo  at- 
tempted to  jump  from  the  castle  bridge  across 
the  sunken  moat,  when  a  wooden  post  suddenly 
gave  way,  and  he  fell  into  the  water.  Luckily,  I 
saw  him  fall,  and  gave  the  alarm.  A  stout  pole 
was  thrown  down,  upon  which  he  might  keep  him- 
self afloat  until  a  rope  could  be  obtained,  by  which 
he  was  ultimately  drawn  up.  Happily,  he  was 
not  in  the  least  hurt,  but  what  would  have  hap- 
pened to  the  poor  youth  had  I  not  witnessed  his 
fall  your  Excellency  can  well  imagine." 

Elizabetta  Gonzaga,  the  Duchess  of  Urbino, — 
who  was  often  the  companion  of  her  sister-in-law 
in  jaunts  on  and  by  the  delicious  waters  of  Lake 
Garda, — recalls,  in  letters  addressed  to  the  Mar- 
chioness, the  happy  days  they  spent  together  in 
that  romantic  paradise  of  mirrored  waters  and 
echoing  woodlands.  She  rallies  her  for  her  success 
in  playing  Scartino, — it  was  a  forbear  of  Ecarte, — 
to  her  purse's  disadvantage.  Women  and  men 
played  for  high  stakes  then  as  now ;  but  Flusso^ 
a  game  after  Isabella's  own  heart, — where,  for  her, 
aU  the  cards  were  trumps,  and  all  the  tricks  her 
own, — led  its  votaries  not  infrequently  into  serious 
financial  difficulties.  Duchess  Elizabetta  had  a 
confidential  chamberlain,  one  Francesco  da  Bagni- 
cavallo,  who  had  charge  of  her  private  accounts, 


ELIZABETTA    GONZAGA,    DUCHESS    OF    UHBINO 
O.    CAROTO 

Uffi.zi,  Florence 


To  face  page  342 


"  BENACO  "  343 

and  wielded  his  influence  to  his  mistress's  advan- 
tage by  doling  out  no  more  than  two  packs  of 
cards  for  a  sitting.  If  more  were  demanded,  the 
Signore  was  equal  to  the  occasion  with  plausible 
apologies  for  the  meagreness  of  the  supply ! 
Marchioness  Isabella  never  lost  her  love  of  gaming  ; 
but  when  she  was  past  her  zenith,  and  her  physical 
charms  were  surpassed  by  those  of  her  mental 
culture  and  reserve,  Flusso  gave  way  to  La 
Primiera  —  a  less  reckless  way  of  dissipating 
ducats. 

Among  the  family  papers  of  the  Gonzagas  has 
been  preserved  a  characteristic  little  missive 
written  to  Federigo  Giovanni,  Marquis  of  Mantua. 
It  is  dated  August  4,  1471,  and  bears  the  signature 
of  Yolanda  de  Predis,  a  sister  of  Ambrogio  de 
Predis,  the  Milanese  painter,  who  is  most  inti- 
mately remembered  by  his  Portrait  of  "  Bona  of 
Savoy."  Yolanda  was  governess  to  the  two 
daughters  of  the  Marquis — Elizabetta  and  Madda- 
lena.  "  They  are,"  she  writes,  "  very  well  in 
health,  and  in  the  very  highest  spirits,  quite 
amenable  and  obedient.  I  have  formed  an  ex- 
cellent opinion  of  the  two  Signorine.  They  are 
studious  and  enthusiastic  in  their  lessons,  but 
are  out  and  about  everywhere,  and  best  pleased 
when  they  can  gallop  off  together  on  horseback, 
one  on  the  saddle,  and  one  on  the  crupper." 
The  letter  would  appear  to  have  been  written 


344    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

from  the  villa   of   Cavriana   to   the  Marquis   in 
Mantua. 

To  return  to  the  fair  Marchioness  :  her  favourite 
pastime  when  she  visited  the  borders  of  her  be- 
loved lake  took  the  form  of  journeys  by  boat  to 
some  beauty-spot  or  other.  These  expeditions 
were  quite  remarkable,  for  the  number  of  her  guests 
wellnigh  exhausted,  not  only  the  energies  of  her 
caterers  and  chefs,  but  those  of  the  lake  fishermen 
to  furnish  craft  sufficient.  Every  boatload  had 
its  musicians,  preferably  guitarists.  Landed,  the 
merrymakers  betook  themselves  to  shady  bos- 
kets, where  dance  and  song  alternated  with 
repast  and  flirtation.  Perhaps  the  Marchioness's 
Festas  inspired  literally  the  brush  of  Giorgione 
and  Watteau — painters  of  gallantries  !  One  very 
excellent  and  most  popular  item  of  the  day's 
festivity  was  singing  to  the  guitar,  wherein  Isa- 
bella was  easily  prima  cantatrice.  Her  sweet  and 
melodious  voice  and  her  extremely  clear  enuncia- 
tion rendered  her  a  dangerous  rival  for  all  com- 
petitors. Can  anything  be  conceived  more  de- 
lightful than  those  alfresco  pleasure  picnics  ? 
Sometimes  held  in  lovely  gardens,  where  the  per- 
fumes of  roses  and  oleanders,  carnations  and 
acacias,  mingled  in  the  sweet  fresh  air  :  sometimes 
on  some  breezy  woodside,  where  limes  and  lilacs, 
horse-chestnut  and  honeysuckles,  screened  the 
amorous  sun — green  velvet  to  the  feet,  cerulean 


"  BENACO  "  345 

satin  overhead,  and  gay  songsters  and  gayer 
butterflies  darting  in  and  out  of  the  crystal  spray 
of  ornamental  fountains  and  the  soothing  rush  of 
rivulets  !  Very  much  of  the  success  of  the  enter- 
tainment depended  upon  the  skill  and  gallantry 
of  the  guitarists.  The  measures  which  they 
strummed  suggested  bold  love-passages :  no  dismal 
dirges  or  sorrowful  swirls  were  admissible.  The 
musician  who  most  effectively  touched  human 
chords  was  adjudged  the  laureate,  and  forthwith 
crowned  with  bays,  fresh-gathered,  and  twisted 
wreathwise  for  his  brow  by  Beauty's  hand. 

These  gatherings  of  the  fair  and  brave  on  sweet 
Lake  Garda's  banks,  where  hand  clasped  hand 
and  hearts  beat  in  sympathy,  were  responsible  also 
for  many  bewitching  delights — the  true  kiss  of 
love — lips  to  lips.  Time  out  of  mind,  to  kiss  the 
hand  signified  dependence  and  loyalty  ;  the  kissed 
cheek  displayed  equality  and  ceremony  ;  the  fore- 
head touched  by  the  lips  told  of  parental  affec- 
tion ;  but  none  of  these  was  quite  in  Love's  con- 
summate way.  It  was  Isabella  of  Mantua  who 
taught  her  courtiers  how  to  kiss  as  Cupid  wills  ! 
Betrothed  couples  meeting  for  the  first  time  after 
that  ceremony  embraced  each  other's  mouths,  and 
this  became  a  canon  of  etiquette.  Certainly  it 
had  its  inconveniences,  which  sometimes  touched 
the  ludicrous,  as  exemplified  at  the  first  meeting  of 
Duke   Giovanni   Galeazzo   Sforza   of   Milan   and 


346    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

Princess  Isabella  of  Aragon.  The  royal  pair  ad- 
vanced towards  one  another  attended  by  numerous 
and  distinguished  suites  mounted  on  horseback  ! 
To  kiss  the  lips  was  of  course  impossible,  so,  after 
much  ado,  they  dismounted  and  embraced,  whilst 
grooms  held  their  steeds,  despite  the  mud  and  dirt, 
and  then  loftily  reascended  to  the  saddles,  and  so 
rode  on  ! 

The  mention  of  Emilia  Pia, — who  was  the  wife 
of  the  Marquis's  brother,  Antonio  di  Monte- 
feltro, — a  few  pages  back,  recalls  intimate  touches 
of  feminine  civilities  which  passed  between  the 
sister  of  ''  Margherita  la  Infelicissima  "  and  the 
Marchioness  of  Mantua.  Isabella  was  a  devotee 
of  the  toilet  and  all  its  accessories,  and  no  fair 
damsel  or  dame  who  revelled  in  the  charms  of 
Garda  was  a  more  subtle  priestess  of  the  cult  than 
Emilia,  her  sister-in-law.  She  had  many  secret 
nostrums  for  the  preservation  and  development  of 
personal  attributes.  To  the  Marchioness  once  she 
sent,  with  an  apologetic  letter,  a  piece  of  ebon 
wood  shining  like  most  briUiant  lacquer,  to  be 
used  for  polishing  the  nails.  "  You  should,"  she 
wrote,  "  Magnifica  Signora,  rub  and  rub  until 
you  feel  a  sort  of  heat.  This  you  may  find  a  some- 
what fatiguing  business,  but  you  must  persevere, 
and  you  wiU  be  pleased  by  your  exercise !" 
Beauty-culturist  Emilia  Pia  had  other  patronesses 
too,  for  to  the  Queen  of  Naples  she  despatched  a 


"  BENACO  "  347 

special  wash  for  the  teeth,  which  she  was  directed 
"  to  hold  in  your  mouth  until  you  can  retain  it  no 
longer,  moving  it  about  with  the  tongue  the  while." 
These  recipes  bear  date  March  10,  1505.  Donna 
Emilia  became  a  widow  in  1500,  and  died  in  1528. 
Marchioness  Isabella,  on  her  part,  responded 
cordially  to  all  such  welcome  hints  and  notions  by 
returning  to  their  donors  delightful  little  silver 
coffrets,  exquisitely  chiselled  and  embossed,  full 
of  delicious  perfumes,  which  she  had  herself  con- 
cocted. The  gardens  which  she  so  loved  at  Tosco- 
lano  and  along  the  riviera  of  Lake  Garda  furnished 
ever  so  many  odoriferous  blooms,  whence  sweet 
scents  could  be  expressed ;  and  numberless  sweet 
herbs,  too,  were  hers  for  her  laboratory.  Her 
favourite  nuns, — Franciscans  of  the  Isola, — were, 
as  is  their  general  wont,  past  mistresses  in  the  art 
of  distilUng  and  expressing  fragrant  perfumes. 
Possibly  Isabella  was  quite  as  much  drawn  to 
their  sweet  manipulations  as  she  was  to  their 
melodious  voices  in  their  convent  chapel.  Ole- 
ander,— single,  not  double,  and  both  pink  and 
white, — was  the  foundation  of  her  functions,  and 
in  its  delicate  aroma  she  blended  many  a  wise 
admixture  of  secret  artistry.  Maybe  that  which 
we  now  know  as  "  Ess.  Bouquet  "  should  be  writ 
"  Este  Bouquet,"  for  scents  are  older  than  the  cen- 
tury in  which  we  live — indeed,  the  pomegranate  was 
Mother  Eve's  pomander,  if  romancists  flatter  not ! 


348    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

A  very  favourite  pastime  of  the  Marchioness, 
and  one  "  which  she  indulged  in  to  her  heart's 
content "  under  the  greenwood  tree  by  Garda's 
sparkHng  ripples,  was  dancing — not,  indeed,  as 
we  understand  that  delectation,  where  men  and 
women  romp  and  perspire  together,  and  think 
themselves  quite  smart !  At  the  Castle  of  Ferrara 
her  mother  saw  to  it  that  her  three  pretty 
daughters  should  excel  in  the  cult  of  Terpsichore. 
Isabella,  Beatrice,  and  Lucrezia  had  for  master 
the  famous  professor  Lorenzo  Lavagnolo.  No 
captivating  step,  no  bewitching  pose,  escaped  his 
acute  attention,  and  his  Sovereign's  daughters 
excelled  all  damsels  at  that  cultured  Court  for 
graceful  carriage  and  emotional  posture.  Isabella 
held  dancing  revels  in  the  archpriest's  garden 
with  her  many  maids  of  honour.  Vivid  memories 
of  such  pastoral  plays  have  been  preserved  to  us 
in  the  romantic  paintings  of  Andrea  Mantegna, 
Pietro  Perugino,  and  Lorenzo  Costa,  which 
adorned  the  "  Paradiso "  of  Isabella  d'  Este- 
Gonzaga  at  Mantua.  The  musical  and  literary 
tastes  of  the  accomplished  Marchioness  sought 
environment  suggestive  of  poetry  and  beauty. 
The  grim,  dingy  old  castle  was  well  enough  for 
State  ceremonials,  but  the  gallantries  of  sympa- 
thetic companionship  were  quite  out  of  place  in 
those  solemn  chambers.  Within  the  area  of  the 
Castella  Vecchia  she  created  what  she  called  "  La 


"  BENACO  '*  349 

Grotta,^^  where  she  placed  her  many  art  treasures, 
her  sweet  singing  birds,  and  other  captivating 
pets.  The  "  Grotta  "  was  a  series  of  rooms,  loggie, 
and  parterres  on  the  ground-floor  of  the  old  castle, 
which  Bonnacolsi  and  Bartolino  da  Novara  built 
for  the  d'  Esti.  The  central  apartment  was 
Isabella's  Studiolo  —  her  library  and  workroom. 
Opening  out  of  it  were  several  small  closets, — 
camerini,  they  were  called, — arranged  for  quiet 
tete-d'tetes  with  poets,  philosophers,  linguists,  and 
lovers.  To  her  favourite  camerino  the  Marchioness 
gave  the  name  "  II  Paradiso,^^  as  marking  a  serene 
retreat,  wherein,  undisturbed  by  conventions  of 
the  Court,  she  could  recline  in  meditation  or  con- 
verse with  such  favourite  visitors  as  Battista 
Guarino  and  Jacopo  Gallino, — her  early  teachers, 
— and  Pietro  Bembo,  Baldassare  Castiglione,  Gio- 
vanni Aldomanuco,  and  Galeazzo  Bentivoglio. 
She  loved  to  lie  there  at  ease  and  listen  to  tales  of 
romance  and  chivalry.  Small  in  size  and  low  in 
height,  with  two  doors  and  a  balconied  window, 
there  was  just  room  for  the  divan  couch,  two  chairs, 
a  table,  and  a  stool  or  two.  Upon  the  walls  she 
had  painted  her  own  ideas,  conveyed  by  way  of 
compliment  to  the  most  realistic  painters  of  the 
day.  To  the  three  already  named  she  added 
Giovanni  Bellini,  the  Venetian,  but  he  declined 
the  honour,  much  to  Isabella's  annoyance.  To 
Mantegna  she  assigned  "  Parnassus,"  and, — when 


350    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

Bellini  refused, — "  Minerva  Triumphant  ";  Peru- 
gino  did  the  "  Combat  of  Love  and  Chastity," — 
which  she  disHked  immensely,  and  placed  behind 
her  couch.  "  I  do  not  like  it  at  all — it  is  too  stiff 
and  artificial,"  she  said.  "  Salo  is  more  beautiful 
than  that,  and  my  baUets  were  very  much  more 
animated  and  amusing."  To  Lorenzo  Costa,  the 
Marchioness  assigned  the  most  captivating  sub- 
ject of  them  all—''  The  Court  of  IsabeUa."  The 
scene,  of  course,  is  the  riviera  of  Lake  Garda, 
where  her  revels  were  held,  and  she  was  the  floral 
Queen  of  the  Orchard.  Costa  has  very  character- 
istically painted  his  patroness,  and  he  has  repre- 
sented her  as  being  crowned  by  the  god  of  Love  ! 
She  is  the  most  prominent  figure  on  his  panel, 
beautifully  dressed,  with  her  lovely  hair  artistically 
coifiEured.  The  martial  personage  leaning  on  a 
halberd  in  the  foreground  is  Count  CastigUone. 
Donna  Paride  Ceresara,  —  the  Marchioness's 
favourite  lady  of  honour, — herself  a  poetess,  an 
incantatrice,  and  a  brilliant  conversationalist, — is 
standing  beside  her  mistress.  Isabella's  favourite 
slave-girl  is  there,  too — a  Moorish  maiden,  seven- 
teen years  old,  very  lovely,  but  with  thick  lips — 
"  Niella,"  she  called  her.  It  is  a  delightful  com- 
position, thoroughly  descriptive  of  the  fascinating 
amusements  which  had  for  their  theatre  one  of 
earth's  chief  beauty-spots.  Isabella  greatly  ad- 
mired  Costa's   work,    and   arranged   it   between 


"  BENACO  "  351 

Mantegna's  panels  in  the  place  of  honour.  These 
happy  compositions  are  now  in  the  Louvre ;  for, 
though  the  *'  Paradiso "  escaped  the  wholesale 
destruction  of  the  Lansquenets  in  1630,  when  the 
castle  was  reduced  to  ruins,  they  have,  alas !  not 
been  allowed  to  remain  in  situ.  However,  a  repro- 
duction of  half  the  "  Paradiso  "  has  been  placed 
in  the  Victoria  and  Albert  Museum,  with  excellent 
copies  of  the  three  pictures,  and  the  name  "Isa- 
bella "  and  her  motto  "  Nee  Spe  nee  metu  "  are 
recorded  underneath. 

One  only  envoi  of  Isabella  d'  Este-Gonzaga  is 
required  to  complete  her  story,  and  it  is  in  the 
very  words  of  her  doting,  indulgent  husband,  Gian 
Francesco,  Marquis  of  Mantua.     In  his  last  will  he 
speaks  of  his  dear  wife  as  possessing  "  a  wonderful 
mind  capable  of  any  undertaking  however  exalted 
its  nature."     The  Marquis,  who  died  in  1519,  was 
himself  a  soldier  by  profession,  of  course,  but  a 
man  also  of  highly  cultured  tastes,  and  a  high- 
toned  poet  besides.     His  delicacy  of  health,  to 
which  the  Marchioness  frequently  alludes  in  her 
letters,  precluded  his  sharing  her  pastoral  pleasures 
by  the  enchanting  Lake  of  Garda.     They  were 
married  in  1490,  and  Isabella  spent  twenty  years 
in  widowhood  and  retirement. 


23 


352    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

III. 

The  Palazzo  Barbarano  at  Salo  has  sheltered, 
on  and  off,  many  a  notable  visitor.  In  one  of  its 
lofty  chambers  was  born,  in  1640,  Cammillo  Mar- 
tinengo  Cesaresco,  whose  grandfather  purchased 
the  estate  from  the  Marquis  Alfiero  Pallavicini. 
As  a  youth  he  early  entered  the  military  service  of 
the  Serene  Republic,  but,  after  doing  many 
doughty  deeds,  he  was  banished  on  suspicion  of 
treacherous  dealings  with  the  Genoese.  Taking 
arms  under  the  Duke  of  Parma,  the  ally  of  the 
Grand  Duke  of  Tuscany  against  Papal  aggressions, 
he  attracted  the  attention  of  Ferdinando,  who,  in 
return  for  successful  strategy,  obtained  the  can- 
cellation of  his  outlawry.  Returning  to  his  home 
on  Lake  Garda,  laden  with  riches  and  honours, 
he  set  about  the  reparation  and  decoration  of  the 
palace,  and  once  more  took  up  his  residence  there. 
Like  other  noted  Condottieri,  Count  Cammillo  re- 
tained a  numerous  guard  of  armed  retainers,  and 
entertained  many  a  knight-errant  and  many  a 
tired  warrior.  Venus,  as  is  her  wont,  followed  in 
the  wake  of  Mars,  and  the  sheen  of  silken  skirts 
made  harmony  with  the  glitter  of  steely  swords. 
In  1668  a  very  gallant  company  made  rendezvous 
at  Barbarano.  The  Prince  of  Florence, — Cosimo, 
— later  Cosimo  III.,  Grand  Duke, — returning  from 
a  lengthy  tour  through  Europe,  spent  a  consider- 


"  BENACO  "  353 

able  time  on  the  Lake  of  Garda  as  Count  Cam- 
millo's  guest — ever  greatly  in  his  father's  con- 
fidence. 

Some  interesting  records  of  that  visit  have  been 
preserved  in  the  form  of  a  diary.  On  Tuesday, 
April  30,  the  princely  party  embarked  at  Riva 
upon  stately  barges  sent  from  Said  by  Count 
Cammillo.  Enchanted  with  the  beauty  of  the 
lake,  and  intoxicated  by  the  sweetness  of  the  air, 
they  landed  at  Mademo  for  a  siesta,  and  thence 
made  way  to  the  marble  steps  of  the  palace 
landing-place. 

"  Wednesday,  May  2  :  Tempted  by  the  serenity 
of  the  weather  and  the  beauty  of  the  lake,  abun- 
dantly full  of  delicate  fish,  with  several  fishermen's 
boats  we  went  to  Gargnano,  where,  when  we  had 
dined,  we  fished  for  quite  a  long  time,  but  caught 
very  little  ;  yet  what  there  was,  was  excellent 
eating.  Following  us  aU  the  way  were  many 
boats  from  Salo,  full  of  musicians  and  singers, 
who  discoursed  sweetest  music  all  the  afternoon 
till  eventide,  when  we  returned  to  the  palace  and 
spent  the  night  right  merrily.  .  .  . 

"  Thursday,  May  3  :  We  went  to  Mademo  to 
look  over  a  villa  belonging  to  the  Duke  of  Parma, 
with  exquisite  gardens  and  some  interesting  ruins, 
and  then  back  to  Salo.  .  .  . 

"  Friday,  May  4 :  We  made  an  excursion  to 
Isola  de'  Frati,  where  the  monks  provided  us  with 


354    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

some  delicious  fish.  We  hurried  back  to  the 
palace  to  receive  an  important  embassy  which 
had  come  from  Florence  to  greet  his  Highness 
upon  his  return  to  Italy.  .  .   ." 

Accompanied  by  the  members  of  the  embassy 
and  a  great  following  of  Count  Cammillo's  re- 
tainers, the  Prince  embarked  at  Salo  for  Desen- 
zano.  The  Count  went  on  with  his  guest  as  far  as 
Bologna,  and  even  then  Cosimo  was  unwilling  to 
allow  him  to  return  home,  so  great  a  regard  had 
he  for  him.  The  friendship  so  auspiciously  in- 
augurated never  ^.eased  between  the  Prince  and  the 
Count.  After  he  attained  the  throne,  Cosimo  III. 
constantly  employed  Count  Cammillo  upon  im- 
portant secret  embassies,  but  he  could  never  pre- 
vail upon  him  to  quit  Salo  and  take  up  his  abode 
in  Florence,  where  the  freehold  of  a  palace  was 
conveyed  to  him.  The  Count  died  in  December, 
1690,  at  Brescia,  upon  his  way  to  his  beloved 
palace  at  Salo.  His  will,  made  at  Venice,  Novem- 
ber 3,  1690,  directed  that  his  body  should  be 
buried  at  Brescia  at  the  Church  of  St.  Barnabas, 
where  he  founded  three  hundred  Masses  for  the 
repose  of  his  soul.  His  estates  at  Said,  Sirmione, 
and  RivoUetta  he  entailed,  in  the  Martinengo 
family,  to  his  next  of  kin, — he  had  no  child  of  his 
own, — but  required  his  heirs  to  add  Cammillo  to 
the  family  name.  The  widowed  Countess  Bianca 
adopted  a  young  niece,  Virginia  Corner,  to  whom 


"  BENACO  "  355 

she  left  what  her  husband  had  willed  as  heiress  for 
life,  and  married  her  to  Count  Giuseppe  Foscarini. 
Count  Cammillo's  renown  was  that  of  an  intrepid 
soldier,  a  considerate  master,  and  the  patron  of  all 
good  works ;  nevertheless,  his  memory  is  pre- 
served as  the  tyrant  of  a  weird  legend — "  The 
Mysteries  of  the  Palace  of  Count  Cammillo  " — 
still  played  by  local  artists.  Therein  he  is  repre- 
sented as  a  villain  of  the  deepest  dye  ;  he  levies 
tolls  on  every  passer-by,  and  no  man's  life  or 
land  was  safe  when  Count  Cammillo  sallied  forth. 
It  was  said  he  had  a  mistress  who  perverted  the 
morals  of  all  the  youths  and  damsels  of  the  neigh- 
bourhood by  her  wild  example.  They  styled  her 
"  La  Violenta  Signoretta  /"  How  such  tales  are 
brewed  and  how  they  mature  is  well  known  in 
the  science  of  the  black  art  which  the  Comtessa 
professed.  Her  incantations,  it  was  said,  were  con- 
ducted in  a  cave  in  the  gloomy  Barbarino  ravine 
near  Gardone,  the  gem  of  the  riviera.  The  region 
bears  still  an  uncanny  reputation. 

Maderno,  which  so  greatly  charmed  Prince 
Cosimo  de'  Medici,  has  thus  been  eulogized : 
^'Maderno  il  Paradiso  del  Benaco  f^  It  was, 
perhaps,  Marino  Sanuto,  the  historian  of  Venice, 
who  first  so  called  that  Elysium,  where  he  spent 
many  hours  and  days  serenely  enjoying  the  fas- 
cinations of  the  lake,  ever  famous  for  its  gem- 
feathered  songsters  and  its  pearly-silver  fishes,  all 


356    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

"  possessed,"  so  said  the  quaint  old  story,  "  with 
the  intelligence  of  man  and  the  grace  of  God." 
St.  Ercolano,  Bishop  of  Brescia,  in  the  tenth  cen- 
tury, was  the  first  herald  of  the  fame  of  Mademo. 
After  a  life  of  tempest-tossed  devotion,  he  retired 
from  the  graceless  world,  and  sought  repose  upon 
the  lake  shore,  under  the  shade  of  the  solemn 
cypresses.  There  he  prayed  and  fasted,  and  the 
fame  of  his  sanctity  attracted  troubled  souls  by 
scores  to  seek  the  secret  of  his  tranquillity.  "  So 
full  was  the  holy  hermit  of  piety  and  holiness,  of 
grace  and  divinity,  that  not  only  men  and  women, 
but  birds  on  wing,  and  fish  on  fin,  and  beasts  of 
the  field, — wild  and  tame, — stopped, — silent  at  his 
voice, — to  yield  themselves  to  his  will  and  pleasure, 
and  with  him  praise  their  God."  Well  beyond  the 
space  of  ordinary  human  life  the  good  Bishop 
lived  and  testified,  and  then  he  died.  Alas  .' 
peace  was  not  to  be  for  his  dead  body :  Brescia 
claimed  it,  and  the  lake-dwellers  claimed  it ; 
living  creatures  came  by  to  hold  their  Saint.  The 
contention  waxed  fierce,  but  at  last  the  sacred 
corpse, — fully  vested, — was  placed  upon  a  festal- 
decorated  and  candle-lighted  barge,  with  neither 
oars  nor  rudder,  and  none  on  board  to  guide  a 
course.  Drifting  hither  and  thither  at  the  mercy 
of  the  gentle  swell,  the  strange  barque  now  crossed 
the  lake,  but  touched  no  bottom,  and  back  it 
pointed,  first  to  Gardone,  and  then,  perhaps  in 


**  BENACO  "  357 

answer  to  the  prayers  of  men  and  other  creatures, 
it  came  to  rest  between  Mademo  and  Toscolano, 
and  holy  men  and  humble  fisherfolk  jouied  hands 
to  lay  the  venerated  relics  in  holy  ground. 

A  thousand  years  later,  —  when  devotion  to 
St.  Ercolano  still  survived, — came  champions  of  his 
master,  the  great  St.  Mark,  and  planted  a  winged 
lion  of  gold  upon  a  marble  column  before  the 
shrine;  but  then  the  Marquis  of  Mantua  worsted 
the  Venetians,  and  where  had  been  the  recreation 
cloister  of  the  Saint  he  built  a  palace,  and  laid  out 
glorious  gardens  and  picturesque  grottos.  It 
was  Marquis  Carlo  who  put  up  the  Casino  in  1660, 
and  made  it  the  scene  of  his  orgies.  Simple- 
hearted  men  and  women  had  erstwhile  gathered, 
with  beast  and  bird  and  fish,  to  listen  to  St.  Erco- 
lano ;  now  there  was  no  place  for  them,  for  repro- 
bates and  prostitutes,  ruffians  and  satellites  from 
every  corrupt  Court,  settled  on  those  pleasant 
shores.  They  cared  not  for  the  natural  beauties 
there  spread  out :  they  minded  only  their  own 
unnatural  lusts.  Upon  the  dissolute  Prince  they 
preyed,  vampire-like,  they  sucked  him  dry,  and 
then  dropped  off,  like  leeches  full  of  blood,  into 
dishonoured  graves,  leaving  their  master — their 
slave — miserably  to  die  alone. 

The  Plazzo  Martinengo  at  Salo,  with  its  beautiful 
environment,  drew  forth  the  hearty  encomiums 
of  a  very  notable  but  eccentric  "  Lady  "— none 


358    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

other  than  the  celebrated  Lady  Mary  Wortley 
Montagu.     "  I  have  been  pressed,"  she  wrote  to 
her  daughter,  the  Countess  of  Bute,  "  to  make  a 
sojourn  at  a  palace  at  Salo,  on  the  vast  Lake  of 
Garda.     It  is  altogether  the  finest  place  I  ever  saw. 
There  are  sweet  gardens  diversified  with  splashing 
fountains,  cascades,  and  statues — many  covered 
walks,  where  one  is  quite  sheltered  in  the  hottest 
part  of  the  day  by  the  shade  of  orange-trees  as 
large  as  lime-trees  in  England.     A  magnificent 
open-air  bath  there  is,  with  statues ;  and  in  the 
adjacent  fish-ponds  the  water  is  so  clear  that  it 
causes  the  fish  which  are  therein  to  come  daily  to 
eat  out  of  my  hand.     It  is  a  veritable  paradise  for 
human  beings  worn  and  torn  in  this  crazy  world." 
Lady  Mary  revelled  in  the  delights  of  that  "  corner 
of  the  enchanted  lake,"  as  she  called  it,  and  re- 
covered much  of  her  natural  taste  for  the  beautiful 
and  the  cleanly.     Truly,  it  was  a  great  contrast 
for  her  when  she  found  herself  once  more  in  Lon- 
don, and  lodged  in  George  Street,  Hanover  Square, 
"  I  am,"  she  wrote,  "  handsomely  lodged  in  truth  : 
I  have  two  very  decent  closets  and  a  cupboard  on 
each  floor."     Horace  Walpole's  description  of  this 
remarkable  woman,  only  six  months  before  her 
sad,  sad  death,  is  interesting,  if  pathetic :  "  Lady 
Mary  Montagu  is  arrived  in  town  ;  I  have  just  seen 
her.     Her  avarice,  her  dirt,  and  her  vivacity  have 
all  enlarged.     Her  dress,  like  her  language,  is  a 


"  BENACO  "  359 

mixture  of  many  countries — the  groundwork  rags 
and  the  embroidery  nastiness  !"  To  such  a  pass 
had  she  come.  The  squalid  environment  of  London 
in  the  uncouth  days  of  Dr.  Johnson  had  blotted 
out  the  sweetness  of  the  life  she  had  gloried  in  at 
Salo  by  Garda's  healthful  waters.  But  perhaps 
Walpole  exaggerated — men  and  women  did  so  one 
hundred  years  ago,  much  as  they  do  now,  and 
nothing  is  so  elastic  as  personal  gossip  ! 

The  fourth  year  before  the  end  of  the  century, 
in  1796,  a  French  corps  d'armee^  under  Saurat, 
Rusca,  and  Guyeux,  occupied  Salo,  and  the  day 
following  the  Austrian  flotilla  appeared  off  Gar- 
gnano.  The  riviera  was  devastated — earth's  finest 
garden  ravaged.  The  democratic  movement  swept 
over  Brescia  and  the  cities  of  the  plain,  and 
Buonaparte  was  acclaimed  by  the  Martinenghi, 
Lecchi,  Ferraroli,  Alessandri,  and  other  noble 
families.  Then  came  a  counterblast,  and  Marshal 
Wurmser  occupied  the  shores  of  Garda  with  thirty 
thousand  men.  Said  was  attacked  and  sacked, 
and  the  French  were  cut  to  pieces.  Guyeux  pil- 
laged the  flour-mills  at  Barbarano,  and  then  en- 
trenched himself  in  the  grounds  of  the  Palazzo 
Martinengo — '' un  vieux  chateau,'^  as  Las  Cases 
called  it ;  "  espece  de  forteresse  a  Vahri  d^un  coup 
de  mainy  The  palace  was  bombarded  from  land 
and  lake,  and  then  delivered  over  to  the  fury  of 
the  peasantry,  who  sacked  and  burnt  it.     Seventy 


360    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

years  later  again  the  palace,  which  had  been 
restored  by  Count  Lodovico  Cammillo,  was  occu- 
pied by  a  military  force  :  six  hundred  Garibaldians 
— patriots  of  all  Italy.  So  Salo  and  her  suburbs 
witnessed  martial  deeds  as  well  as  romantic 
episodes,  and  her  ''  Lords  and  Ladies  "  wept  for 
the  brave  as  well  as  laughed  with  the  fair  ! 

Gargnano  is  the  northern  limit  of  the  Riviera 
di  Garda ;  it  is  still  dominated  by  the  thirteenth- 
century  buildings  of  the  famous  Franciscan  monas- 
tery, with  their  splendid  cloisters.  Here  dwelt, 
meditated,  and  worked  the  pioneers  of  industry. 
Their  devotion  to  religion  and  their  enthusiasm 
for  craftsmanship  yielded  great  results.  Like  the 
"  UmiliaW^  of  Tuscany, — mostly  Lombardians  too, 
— the  friars  changed  man's  heart  and  altered  the 
forces  of  Nature.  Swords  and  staves  they  turned 
to  ploughs  and  looms.  The  cloth  of  Gargnano, 
the  paper  of  Toscolano,  and  the  cordage  of  Salo, 
with  the  leather  work  of  Eiva,  commanded  every 
European  market.  Then  came  along  the  warring 
Scaligers,  and,  whilst  their  ladies  hunted  deer 
with  them  in  the  forests  of  Mustone,  their  lordships 
built  fortresses  upon  the  heights,  and  a  chain  of 
MarteUo  towers  along  the  shores  right  on  to  Riva. 
"  Riva  di  Trento,"  it  is  called  by  some,  to  indicate 
dependence  upon  that  noted  Tyrolean  city ;  but 
patriotic  Rivese  will  have  none  of  it.  Riva  expands 
like  a  "Lady's"  fan  widespread  beneath  the  shadow 


"  BENACO  "  361 

of  Monte  d'  Oro.  One  suburb  lies  right  under  the 
precipitous  Rocchetta,  whence  stony  trouble  often 
comes  in  avalanches.  The  ruined  Bastione, — 
watch-tower, — recalls  the  iron  rule  of  Venice  and 
the  exploits  of  her  Condottieri.  Those  castle  walls 
take  one  back  to  still  earlier  days,  for  Romans 
had  here  a  castrum.  The  Church  led  the  way  to 
more  modern  things  at  Riva,  as  elsewhere,  and 
Prince- Archbishop  Allemanne  of  Trent,  in  1124, 
erected  a  huge  episcopal  palace  fortress.  The 
Scaligers  cut  off  the  mitre  blazonments,  and 
carved  up  their  "  ladders,"  and  then  the  "  Lion 
of  St.  Mark,"  in  turn,  pulled  them  down.  There- 
after the  historic  stones  became  a  quarry  for  ill- 
conditioned  modern  builders. 

Riva  has  a  patriotic  story  anent  the  unhappy 
'' Patareni,''  The  edict  of  the  Pope  and  the  on- 
slaught of  the  Lord  of  Verona  caused  very  many 
fugitives  to  escape  from  Sirmione  before  the  ven- 
geance fell.  Almost  everywhere  along  the  shores  of 
the  lake,  in  twos  and  threes,  and  in  families,  the 
poor  people  hid  themselves.  At  Riva  and  Arco, — 
farther  on  towards  the  mountains, — some  rallied, 
under  the  leadership  of  men  devoted  to  the  heresy. 
One  such  was  Frate  Dolcino,  who  in  1303  renounced 
his  vow,  and  took  for  his  companion,  in  the  pro- 
pagation of  the  heresy,  a  beautiful  and  high- 
spirited  peasant-girl  Margherita.  She  was  bom  in 
the  wild  Val  di  Ledro,  away  above  the  noble  falls 


362    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

of  Ponale,  not  many  miles  from  Riva.  Attracted 
one  market-day, — as  she  touted  for  customers  by 
her  mother's  side, — by  the  eloquent  words  of  Dol- 
cino,  she  ran  impetuously  up  to  him,  gave  him  her 
silver  earrings  and  locket,  and  asked  to  be  there  and 
then  added  to  his  flock.  She  refused  her  mother's 
endearments  to  win  her  home,  and,  broken- 
hearted, the  good  Madonna  went  painfully  back 
to  her  village  to  rouse  the  menfolk  for  the  rescue 
of  the  misguided  girl.  The  morrow  of  her  flight 
found  once  more  the  terrors  of  the  Church  launched 
against  the  sectaries,  and  Frate  Dolcino  hurried  off, 
nor  stayed  his  steps  till  he  trod  Vercelli's  streets. 
Margherita  remained  concealed  at  Riva,  and  when 
the  wave  of  persecution  had  expended  its  fury, 
she  and  some  seven  simple  women  established 
themselves  as  "  Amice  de'  Patareni,'''  and  sheltered 
sufferers  for  mistaken  conscience.  She  became 
famous  as  an  advocate  of  the  persecuted  opinions, 
but,  when  news  came  to  Riva,  in  1317,  that 
Frate  Dolcino  had  been  burnt  to  death  at  Vercelli, 
Margherita  elected  to  share  his  crown.  She  gave 
herself  up  to  the  seculars  of  the  Archbishop  of 
Trent,  made  open  profession  of  her  errors,  and 
with  scant  ceremony  and  not  any  pity,  she  and 
five  of  her  associates  were  imprisoned,  tortured, 
and  done  to  death  in  the  dungeons  of  the  castle  ; 
some  say,  indeed,  that  they  were  burnt  alive. 
Riva  is  the  parent  of  the  national  game  of 


"  BENACO  "  363 

'' Palla,''  As  long  ago  as  1555  one  Antonio 
Scaino,  of  Salo,  published  at  Riva  the  earliest 
treatise  on  the  pastime.  The  youth  of  Riva  was 
athletic  ever,  and  the  annals  of  the  town  have 
entries  of  notable  games,  which  attracted  strong 
men  and  agile  youths,  and  beautiful  women  and 
lovable  girls  to  Riva.  For  example,  upon  his 
election  as  Prince,  in  1535,  Marchese  Alessandro 
Sforza-Pallavicini  welcomed  the  brave  and  fair  to 
an  octave  of  pageantry.  In  1548  a  regatta  was 
added  to  the  list  of  sports  by  the  Provveditore  Giulio 
Donato  ;  and  when  the  Archduchess  Maria  of 
Austria  passed  through  Riva  in  a  gorgeous  pro- 
gress, in  1582,  the  whole  lake-world  flocked  to  pay 
her  homage  and  to  display  their  champions' 
prowess  and  their  ladies'  charms.  The  classic 
Palla  ground  is  the  town  square,  where,  Sun- 
day in  and  Sunday  out,  iron  netting  covers  every 
pane  of  glass  against  volleys  of  the  scudding  ball. 
This  is  as  characteristic  a  scene  as  any  to  be  beheld 
up  and  down  the  gracious  shores  of  Garda. 

It  was  Goethe  who,  speaking  of  Lake  Garda, 
exclaimed  passionately  :  "  No  words  can  express 
the  beauty  of  this  richly  dowered  spot."  He  had, 
in  1786,  entered  lakeland  at  Torbole,  and  he  beheld 
what  Countess  Lunthieu  had  spoken  of — "  little 
white  figs  most  delicious."  He  remarked  that  the 
doors  had  no  locks,  and  in  place  of  glass  the 
windows  of  the  houses  had  oiled  paper.     "  I  have 


364    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

never,"  he  said,  "  seen  an  idle  woman."  He 
rowed  past  Limone,  and  noted  the  terraced 
gardens,  and  orchards,  with  great  square  white 
pergola  pillars,  bearing  beams  for  the  vines  to 
run  along.  At  Malcesine  he  met  with  a  weird 
adventure.  Sitting  quietly  sketching  the  ruined 
castle,  a  crowd  assembled,  and  one  of  the  men 
demanded  roughly  why  he  was  drawing.  Not 
waiting  for  an  answer,  he  seized  the  paper  and 
tore  it  to  pieces  !  A  peasant  woman  ran  to  the 
Podestd,  and  that  dignitary  came,  attended  by 
his  javelin-men.  He  told  the  stranger  that  Mal- 
cesine was  the  frontier  town  of  the  territory  of 
Venice,  and  that  the  inhabitants  were  very  sus- 
picious of  strangers.  He  asked  Goethe  whether 
he  came  from  Rome  or  Milan.  "  I  am,"  said  the 
poet,  "  a  native  of  Frankfort."  "  Of  Frankfort !" 
cried  a  pretty  woman  in  the  crush  ;  "  now,  Signore 
Podesta,  we  can  test  this  man's  veracity,  for  my 
Gregorio  lived  at  Frankfort  a  long  time,  and  knows 
it  and  its  people  well."  The  good  Gregorio  was 
sent  for,  and  said  he  had  heard  the  name  of  Goethe 
in  Frankfort,  and  he  knew  it  was  much  respected. 
With  that  he  embraced  the  stranger,  and  peace 
came  to  Malcesine  and  its  irascible  people  ! 
Goethe  names  all  the  beauty-spots  upon  the  lake 
— Gargnano,  Bojaco,  Cecina,  Toscolano,  Mademo, 
and  Said,  and  adds  that  "  the  mere  mention  of 
these  places  raises  in  my  mind  the  most  delightful 


'*  BENACO  "  365 

memories,  but  no  words  can  sufficiently  express 
their  charms." 

To  Malcesine  he  gives  the  palm.  "It  is,"  he 
says,  "  a  garden  of  olives  and  myrtles,  fit  only 
for  the  abode  of  the  gods."  It  appears,  from  his 
'*  Diary,"  that  he  came  upon  Garda  somewhat 
unexpectedly,  as  though  he  had  not  planned  to 
visit  what  was,  in  his  day,  very  much  out  of  the 
range  of  travellers  from  Germany  to  Italy.  "  This 
evening,"  he  notes  down,  "  I  should  have  gone 
straight  on  to  Verona,  but  one  of  the  most  wonder- 
ful works  of  Nature  lay  almost  at  my  feet — the 
exquisite  Lake  of  Garda — which  I  would  not  have 
missed,  and  I  have  been  richly  rewarded  for  going 
out  of  my  way." 

The  Rocca  di  Oarda — the  Castle  of  Garda — ^which 
shares  with  the  I  sola  di  Garda  {I  sola  de'  Frati), 
by  the  opposite  shore  of  the  lake,  the  distinction 
of  giving  its  modern  name  to  classic  "  Benaco," 
has  a  stirring  story. 

The  castle  was  considered  a  very  proper  place 
for  the  confinement  of  a  distinguished  princess — 
Adelheid  of  Burgundy,  Queen  of  Italy.  At  fifteen 
she  had  been  married  to  the  Emperor  Lothair, 
but,  widowed  when  still  a  girl,  the  new  Emperor, 
Berengario  III.,  determined  to  marry  her  to  his 
son  Adelbert,  whom,  in  950,  he  proclaimed  and 
crowned  King  of  Italy.  Adelheid  refused  to  join 
her  hands  with  those  of  the  young  King.     Beren- 


366    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

gario  was  furious,  and  his  bad  humour  was  fo- 
mented by  the  Empress-Queen,  Willa,  who  hated 
Adelheid  with  a  right  mediaeval  hatred.     Willa, 
indeed,  sought  opportunity  to  slay  her  rival,  but 
Berengario  chose  another  way  of  bringing  the  re- 
calcitrant Princess  to  do  his  will — a  way  they  had 
in  those  strenuous  days.     He  would  clap  the  girl  in 
prison,  and  starve  her  into  obedience  to  his  wishes  ! 
She  was  taken  to  the  Castle  of  Garda,  thrown  into 
a  dark  dungeon,  with  no  more  than  a  crust  of 
bread  and  a  can  of  water  for  her  daily  fare.     Willa 
hoped  the  girl  would  die  there,  but  that  she  refused 
to  do,  and  set  about  a  very  worthy  task,  befriended 
by  her  faithful  old  nurse,  who  had  been  permitted 
to  follow  her  to  prison.     Moza  brought  her  flax 
and  wool,  a  spinning-wheel,  and  its  accessories, 
and  the  captive  Queen  spent  her  time  usefully  in 
making  cloth  and  garments  for  poor  men  and 
women.     For  years  she  lived  upon  the  fruit  of  her 
industry,   subsisting   on   coarse  food,   and  lying 
upon  a  hard,  hard  bed.     At  length  a  hero  came 
forth  to  rescue  the  Princess.     He  wore  not  the 
gay  uniform  of  a  cavalier,  but  the  sombre  habit 
of  a  monk — Frate  Martino.     By  some  means  or 
other  he  put  the  sentries  off  their  guard,  and  bore 
his  royal  burden  to  a  place  of  safety  hard  by. 
Then,  favoured  by  a  moonless  night,  he  rowed  with 
her  across  the  lake.     The  pair  hid  themselves  in 
the  forest  above  Peschiera,  and  thence  they  made 


**  BENACO  *'  36? 

their  way  to  Mantua.  There  the  Frate  left  his 
Queen,  and  hied  him  off  to  Reggio,  and  confessed 
to  the  Bishop  what  he  had  done.  The  prelate 
at  once  sought  out  the  royal  fugitive,  and  he  came 
upon  her  quite  unexpectedly  in  a  meadow  outside 
the  city,  where  she  was  resting  peacefully  and 
listening  to  the  nightingales.  With  the  utmost 
courtesy  and  gentleness  he  led  her  to  the  Castle 
of  Canossa  in  the  Emilia. 

The  story  of  her  escape  and  her  fortitude  in 
captivity  travelled  far  and  wide,  and  greatly 
affected  rich  and  poor — all  hearts  were  touched. 
The  Emperor  Otto — Otto  the  Great — heard  it, 
and,  inflamed  with  admiration  of  Adelheid's 
courage  and  the  story  of  her  beauty  and  noble 
character,  he  came  with  an  imposing  retinue  to 
Canossa,  and  there  laid  his  heart  and  his  crown  at 
the  feet  of  the  heroine.  The  Empress  soon  became 
the  lady  paragon  of  all  Italy  and  of  folks  across 
the  border.  Men  and  women  in  distress,  in  death's 
danger,  and  in  need  of  sovereign  aid,  sought  the 
precincts  of  her  palace.  She  held  her  Court  at 
Verona,  and  none  who  sought  her  aid  went  away 
disappointed.  When  her  son  mounted  the  Im- 
perial throne,  Adelheid  still  held  sway  in  Courts 
of  equity  and  chivalry.  The  romantic  abduction 
of  her  lovely  daughter  Adelazia,  by  the  gallant 
young  officer  Aleramo, — the  forsaken  baby  boy  of 

24 


368    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

Acqui, — whilst  full  of  disquietude  on  account  of 
the  unknown  perils  in  their  way,  appealed  to  the 
Empress,  now  well  past  her  zenith.  She  had  been 
run  away  with  too,  it  was  true, — but  her  fairy 
Prince  was  by  his  sacred  vows  forbidden  to  taste 
the  joys  of  his  adventure, — and  sympathetically 
she  succeeded  in  softening  the  Emperor's  heart 
towards  the  fugitives.  Her  joy  was  great  when 
she  folded  to  her  bosom  her  beloved  daughter, 
and  fondled  the  dear  children — hers  and  Aler- 
amo's.  The  Emperor  created  Aleramo  Marquis 
of  Monferrato,  and  endowed  him  with  a  princely 
income. 

In  grateful  memory  of  joys  and  sorrows  shared 
at  Brescia  and  Cremona,  Aleramo  and  Adelazia 
bestowed  munificent  endowments  in  both  cities, 
whilst  the  Empress  Adelheid's  name  is  still 
associated  with  noble  works  at  Peschiera  and 
Verona. 

The  Isola  di  Garda  (Isola  de'  Frati), — with  its 
sister  islets  of  Olivo,  Sogno,  and  Trunclone, — was 
bestowed  in  879,  by  Charlemagne,  upon  the 
monks  of  St.  Zeno  of  Verona ;  but  the  Religious 
were  not  long  left  in  peaceful  possession  of  their 
fief.  It  changed  hands  many  a  time, — the  prey  of 
warring  lords, — and  years  swiftfooted  masked 
man's  work  and  God's  with  vicissitudes.  Seasons, 
too,  of  peaceful  ownership  encouraged  art  and 
craft,  and  fisherfolk  and  toilers  in  the  soil  laboured 


"  BENACO  '*  369 

zealously  for  home  and  common  good.  In  1220 
the  Emperor  Frederic  II.  made  over  the  rights  of 
proprietorship  for  faithful  services  in  the  field 
to  Condottiere  Biemo  di  Manerbo,  on  the  main- 
land. After  a  while  the  new  lord  sold  a  portion 
of  his  possessions  to  St.  Francis  d'  Assisi  for  a 
monastery  of  "  Observanti  Minori  " — the  first  of 
the  Order  in  the  Province  of  Brescia.  Once  more 
pious  visions  and  sonorous  "  Hours  "  were  wafted 
on  the  lemon-scented  air,  but  how  short  was  that 
religious  episode  !  Lakeland  became  again  the 
battle  arena  of  envenomed  enemies — the  Scaligeri, 
the  Visconti,  and  the  Sforze  held  in  turn  the 
upper  hand.  Brescians,  Veronese,  and  Mantuans 
fought  out  to  a  finish  their  harsh  disputes,  till 
1426,  when  Venice  laid  all  rivals  low,  and  absorbed 
all  Garda  and  her  gracious  shores  into  the  integrity 
of  the  Serene  Republic.  When  peace  reigned  again 
upon  that  fair  riviera, — too  lovely  for  the  dis- 
figurements of  war, — a  man  of  prayer,  a  holy 
hermit,  found  his  way  to  the  little  island, — 
known  to  him  best  and  many  more  by  the  name 
of  Isola  de!  Frati, — and  ensconced  himself  in  his 
solitary  cell — sweet-faced  San  Bernardo  di  Siena. 
A  century  of  years,  some  good,  some  bad,  passed 
on,  and  then  the  joys  of  the  homestead  were  added 
to  the  religious  delights  of  the  Isola,  for  a  noted 
family  from  Brescia  obtained  possession — the 
Lecchi.     They   dwelt   in   security,   and  laid   the 


370    LORDS  AND  LADIES  OF  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 

foundation  of  the  island's  literary  fame,  making 
it,  too,  the  delightful  sanctuary  of  distinguished 
refugees.  Cesare  Arici,  Giovito  Salvini,  Filippo 
Ugoni,  Antonio  Giovanni  Arrivabene,  with  the 
two  Camilli,  and  many  others,  foregathered  under 
Lecchian  auspices,  and  there,  too,  Alessandro 
Fregoso  and  his  son  Giacomo,  from  Genoa,  sought 
asylum.  The  beneficent  rule  of  the  Lecchi  gained 
still  another  name  for  the  island — U  Isola  Lecchi, 
The  last  hundred  years  have  seen  many  changes  of 
ownership  and  interest — Benedetto  di  Portese, 
Giovanni  Fiorentino  di  Milano,  Barone  Scotti  di 
Bergamo,  Duca  Raffele  de'  Ferrari  di  Genova, 
and,  last  of  all,  in  1870,  Prince  Scipione  Borghese. 
All  of  these  placed  their  arms  and  ensigns  on  the 
castle  walls.  They,  and  members  of  their  families, 
their  guests,  retainers,  and  tenants,  all  paced  the 
shingle  of  the  beach  ;  all  sought  the  shelter  of  the 
trees,  all  fished  the  lake  for  carp,  whilst  ladies 
fair  and  ladies  frail  trailed  skirts  of  silk  and  stuff 
in  storied  haU  and  secret  bower — "  Lords  and 
Ladies  "  of  Lake  Garda. 

"  Then,  bending  back  her  head, 
With  those  sweet  lips  so  rosy-red 
Upon  his  eyes  she  dropped  a  kiss. 
Intoxicating  him  with  bhss." 

Sir  Theodore  Martin,  after  Catullus, 


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"ITre  Laghi."     F.  Taramelli.     Pallanza,  1907. 

"  Viaggio  da  Milano  ai  Tre  Laghi."     Milano,  1764. 

'♦  Villa  di  Delizia  di  Milano."     Dal  Rfe.     Milano,  1763. 

"II  LagodiGarda."     G.  Solitro.     Bergamo,  1904. 

"Pallanza  antica  e  Pallanza  Nuovo."     A.  Viani.     Pallanza,  1891. 

"  Italia  Artistica — Milano."     F.  Malaguzzi-Valeri.     Bergamo,  1905. 

"  Italia  Artistica — Bergamo."     P.  Pescati.     Bergamo,  1906. 

"  Italia  Artistica — Brescia."     A.  Ugoletti."     Bergamo,  1907. 

"  Mantova  e  Urbino."    A.  Luzio.     Torino,  1904. 

"  Varese  vel  1901."    A.  Godara.     Varese,  1901. 

"  Angara  o  Arona."     L.  Beltrami.     Milano,  1904. 

"  Tradizioni  e  Costumi  Lombardi."     G.  Rosa.     Bergamo,  1891. 

"  Tradizioni  PopolariTicinesi."     V.  Pellandini.     Lugano,  1911. 

"  Famiglie  Celebre  Italiana."     P.  G.  Litta.     Roma,  1880. 

"  Delia  Famiglia  Sforza."     2  vols.     N.  Ratti.     Milano.  1901. 

"La  Vita  vel  Castello  di  Milano  al  tempio  digli  Sforza."     L.    Beltrami. 

Milano,  1900. 
'' Cater ina  Sforza."     3  vols.     G.  Pasolini.     Roma.     1893. 
"  Illustrate  Bergamerchi. "     P.  Locatelli.     Bergamo,  1900. 
"IlGiorno."     G.  Parini.     Milano,  1624. 
"  I  Promessi  Sposi. "    A.  Manzone.     Milano,  1818. 

Many  articles  in  Serial  Publications  : 

"  Archivio  Storico  Lombardo."     Milano,  1874,  etc. 
"BoUittino  Storico  della  Svizzera- Italiana."     Locarno,  1878,  etc. 
"Arte."    Bergamo.    "Emporium."   Bergamo.    "  Verbania."    Pallanza- 
Intra.     "  Rassegna  d'  Arte."     Roma. 

II.  English  and  French  Authorities  Consulted. 

"  Lombard  Studies."    Countess  Martinengo  Cesaresco.     London,  1902. 

"  History  of  Milan  under  the  Sforzas."     C.  M.  Ady.     London,  1907. 

•'  Italy.  1494-1790."     H.  M.  Vernon.     London,  1909. 

"  The  Lake  of  Como. "    T.  W.  M.  Lund.     London,  1910. 

"  Life  of  Bartolommeo  Colleone."     0.  Browning.     London,  1878. 

"  Isabella  d'  Este."     2  vols.     J.  Cartwright.     London,  1903. 

"Beatrice  d'  Este."     J.  Cartwright.     London,  1899. 

"Milan."     E.  Noyes.     London,  1908. 

"Verona."    A.  Wiel.     London,  1902. 

"The  Journal:  Letters  of  Madame  de  Mont  (Queen  Caroline's  Court)." 

London,  1814-1816. 
"  Autumn  Rambles. "     Finetta  Staley.     Rochdale,  1863. 
•'  King  Rene  and  his  Seven  Queens."     E.  Staley.     London,  1911. 
'•  La  Femme  Italienne."     E.  Rodocarnachi.     Paris,  1906. 
"Historie  de  Chevalier  Bayart."    Jacques  des  Mailles.     Paris,  1524. 
"L'Univers  et  ses  Peuples."    J.  Arlaud.     Paris,  1885. 

Articles  in  Serial  Publications  : 

"Gazette  des  Beaux  Arts."     Vols.  1888.  1890.  1897. 
"L'Art."     Vols.  1877,  1892,  1893. 

371 


INDEX 


Abbiategrosso,  villa  of,  46,  199,  225 
Accoramboni,  Claudio,  319 

Flaminio,  327-329 
Marcello,  320-327 
Tarquinea,  320 
Vittoria,  318-330 

,,        Lines  on,  321 
Adelazia,  Princess,  367,  368 
Adelico,  Prince,  191,  193 
Adeliza   di   Borgomanero    (Countess- 
Vampire),  170 
.Egilulfo  da  Torino  (Duke),  140-143 
Agnese  da  Civate,  Fair,  194 
Ajcardi,    Domenico    (Master    of    the 
Horse),  197,  199 
Giorgio,  199 
Alari,  Count  Giacinto,  209,  210 
Albrecht,  Princess,  156 
Aldomanuoo  Giovanni  (Man  of  Let- 
ters), 349 
Aleardi,  Aleardo  (on  "  Garda  "),  306 
Alicia  da  Torno,  Heroic,  135 
Alserio,  Lake  of,  184,  195 
Amazons,  57.  287,  337 
"  Aminta;'  Tasso's,  292 
Amori,  Marquis  Gianpietro,  102 
Anfo,  Castle  of,  304,  318 
"  Angels  and  Devils,"  85 
Angera,  Town  and  Castle  of,  44-55 
Anguissola,  Count  Giovanni,  129,  132 
Annetta — a  Dresser,  125,  126 
Annona,  Castle  of,  236-243 

Lake  of,  184,  187,  191,  194, 
195,  236.  241 
Arcelli   (Lord  of  Piacenza),    Filippo, 

270 
Arco,  Livia  d'  (a  Blue  Stocking),  316 
Arconati,  Villa  of,  143,  149 
Aretino,  Pietro  (Man  of  Letters),  288, 

316 
Arialdo,  The  Blessed,  55 


Arnoldo  of  Brescia,  301 
Arogno,  Adamo  d'  (Architect),  92 
Arona,  Town  and  Castle  of,  44-54 
Arragona,    Isabella    d'.    Duchess    of 

Milan,  135,  198,  227-230,  346 
Arrigone,    Ambrogio    (Public    Prose- 
cutor), 189 
Arrivabene,  Antonio  Giovanni  (Man 

of  Letters),  370 
Artifices  of  the  Toilet,  346-348 
Artists,  Famous,  92,  93,  99,  136,  137, 

255,  284,  289,  291,  349-356 
Art  Treasures,  61,  108,  222,  253,  325, 

341 
Astrea,  "  Goddess  of  Varese,"  96 
Athletics,  270,  273,  276,  277,  363 
Attendolo,  Muzio  (Condottiere),  215 
Avogardo,  Count  Luigi,  314 

B 

Baglione,  Andrea  (Benefactor),  29 

Bagnese,  Count  Clemente,  102 

Bagnicavallo,    Francesco    (Chamber- 
lain), 342,  343 

Barbiano,  Prince  Emilio,  207 
Princess  Giulia,  207 

Barbo,  Count  Antonio,  68 

Bartolommeo  d'lvrea.  Blessed,  74,  75 

Basdla,  Shrine  of  La,  281-283 

Baveno  (Maggiore),  63-66. 

Bayart,  Le  Chevalier,  241,  245,  302, 
303 

Beatrice  d'  Este-Sforza,  210,  226-245, 
348 

Beauharnais,  Josephine,  62,  168 

"  Beauty,"  Chaucer  on,  213 

Beauty  Spots,  185,  195,  254,  256,  353, 
364 

Beccario,  Marchioness  Caterina,  199 

Belgiososo,     Princess    Cristina,     133, 
134,  149,  205,  206 

Bellagio  (Como).  153-170 


372 


INDEX 


373 


BeUano  (C!omo).  174.  175 
Bellinzona,  Castles  of,  78 
Bellovesas  the  Gaul,  93 
Bembo.  Pietro,  340,  349 
"  Benaco,"  Lake  of.  307-370 

Meaning  of,  306,  307 
Benguardo,  Castle  of,  46 
Bentivoglio,  Galeazzo  (Man  of  Letters) 

349 
Bergamino,  Count  Lodovico,  231 
Bergamo,  Gty  of,  250,  278,  284-305 
Dialect  of,  291-293 
People  of,  292-294 
Bcmal- Osborne,  Georgiana,  154-156 
Berta  da  Trescore,  Sweet,  277 
Bertolotto,  Dilemma  of  Battista,  30- 

32 
Besozzo,  Blessed  Alberto,  52,  53 
Bianchini,  Gian  Pietro,  (Champion  of 

Liberty)  29 
Biandrono,  Lake  of,  97 
Biava,  Samucle  (Journalist),  187 
Bienne,  Lodovico  di  (Journalist),  187 
Bishops  :  Adelgiro  (Como),  78  ;  AUe- 
manne     (Trent),     361  ;    Ambrogio 
(Milan),  113,  208  ;  Arnolfo  (Milan), 
193  ;  Auberto  (Milan).  205  ;  Ereo- 
lano    (Bresoia),    256.    257  ;    Felice 
(Como),    113;    Giovanni    Visconti 
(Milan),    206;    Guala    (Bergamo). 
290  ;  Landulfo  (Como),  78  ;  Leone 
(Milan),     193;    Luitardo    (of    the 
Lakes),  27  ;  Ottone  Visconti  (Milan), 
54,  70,  214 
Borghese,  Prince  Sciopione,  370 
Borromeo.   Carlo   (Saint),   48-52,   75, 
108,  142.  193.  208,  297 
,,  Elizabetta-Visconti,   175, 

197 
,,  Giangiacomo.  60,  61 

,,  Lodovico,  73 

Vitaliano.  55,  60.  61 
Bramante,  Giovanni  (Architect),  216 
Bravi.  46.  188,  189,  190,  220,  329 
Brianza,  The.  183-249 

Moaning  of,  183,  185 
on  Beauty  of,  184 
Brescia,  Armour  of.  299 

City  of.  250,  278,  284-305 
"  The  Falcon  of  Lombardy," 
301 
Brookett,  Henry  (Como),  154-150 
"  Burr,"  Country,  286,  291,  293 
Burrell,  William,  123 
Busi,  Giovanni  de'  (Noble  of  Venice), 

288,  289 
Buonaparte,  Letitia,  168 


Buonaparte,  Napoleone,  62,  63,  149, 

168.  249.  297 
Buonarroti,  Michaelangelo,  203 


Cadenabbia  (Como),  153-161 
I  „  Longfellow's    Poem    on, 

160,  161 
Cadolini,  Angelo  (Benefactor),  29 
I  ,,        Bernardino.  50,  51 

,,        Giovanni  Battista   (Mer- 
chant), 50 
,,        Isabella  (of  Pallanza),  51 
,,        Maria  Eizabetta,  50 
Marta,  50 
Tommaso,  51 
Caldorara,  Vittoria  (Marohesa),  116 

Marohese  di,  116 
Calvi,  Antonio  (Historian),  298 
Camillo,  Giustiniano  (War  Lord),  253 
Camonica.  Val,  250-264,  284 
Oampionesi,  The  (Architects),  93 
Cani,  Count  Facino,  de',  100 
Cannoro,  Three  Castles  of,  72,  73 
Canova,  Giuseppe  (Sculptor),  158, 159, 

168,  251 
Cantelina,    Margherita,    Duchess    of 

Sora,  340 
Cardona,  Pietro  (A  Lover),  45,  46 
Cards,  Games  at,  244,  332,  342.  343 
Cariani,  Fair  Bettina.  289 

Giovanni  (Painter),  288,  289, 
290 
Carimate,  ViUa  of.  197.  198 
Caroline,  Princess  and  Queen.  117-129 
Carlotta,  Villa.  156-159.  251 
Castellana.  An  English,  64-66 
Castello,  Giovanni  del  (War  Lord),  27 
Castiglio,  Guglielmo  de  (Spanish  Com- 
mandant), 337,  338 
Castiglioni,    Count    Baltassare,    250, 
340,  349,  350 
,,  Francesco  (Seneschal),  28 

„  Pietro   (Count- Palatine), 

28 
Castlereagh,  Lord.  124 
Cattanco.  Carlo  (Philosopher).  89.  90 
Catullus  on  "  Garda."  307 
Cavalcasello.  Pietro  (Podest^),  27 
Cavalesca,  Bianca  da  (Heroine),  115 
Cavaletti,  Enrico  (Courtier),  120 
"  Oavargnoni,''  The,  169 
Cavour.  Count.  134 
Cavriana.  Villa  of,  333,  334,  343 
Cells,  Sumptuous,  49,  50 
Ceres  (Goddess  of  Lugano),  77 


374 


INDEX 


Ceresara,  Paride  (Lady  of  Honour),  350 
"  Ceresio,"  Lake  of.  77-96 

,,  Derivation  of  Word,  77 

Challant,  Count  de  (Lover),  45.  46 
Champion  of  Champions,  276,  277 
Charlotte,  Duchess  of  Saxe-Meiningen, 

156 
Chaucer,  Geoffrey,  on  "Bountie,"  213 
Children,  Illegitimate,  28,  219.  221 
„        Songs  and  Dances  of,  82,  83, 
268,  294,  295,  300,  301 
Christmas,  A  Black,  223,  224 
Cicogna,  Villa  of,  98 
*'  Citizen  Cristina,"  133,  134,  149 
Clara,  Villa,  64-66 
aarence,  Lionel,  Duke  of,  211,  212 
Cocai,  Merlin,  on  "  Garda  Fish,"  307 
Colleone,  Bartolommeo  {Condottiere), 
266-281,  295,  297 

Caterina,  273,  278 

Gisilbertus,  268 

Guglielmo,  268 

Isotta,  279 

Medea,  273,  277,  279 

Paulo,  268,  269 

Riccardina,  268-270 

Thisbfe,  273,  274,  278,  280 

Ursina,  273,  278 
Colonna,  Vittoria,  316.  317 
Comabbio,  Lake  of,  97 
Comacina,  Island  of,   136,   137,   142, 

143,  145 
Gomo,  Lake  of,  110-182 

„      Longfellow's  love  of,  100,  161 
Condottieri,  Famous,  271 
Configliardo,  Fernando  (Courtier),  120 
Costa  di  Mezzati,  Castle  of,  296,  297 
Costa.  Lorenzo  (Painter).  348-350 
Court,  A  Splendid.  216.  217,  222,  223, 

237-241,  331,  332.  348-351 
"  Court  of  Isabella,  The,"  350-351 
"  Courtier.  A  Perfect,"  95.  210,  313- 

315 
Crede,  Moritz  (Groom),  125 
Crevelli.  Lucrezia,  246,  247,  248 
Crusade,  A  Monstrous,  202 
Cupid  and  Psyche,  157-160,  251,  266 
Cupid's  Caprice,  176,  239,  240 

Poisoned    Arrows,   164,    165, 

311,  312 
Curio  Hunters,  191 
Cuzzago  Villa,  229-231,  243 


Dacian,  A  Gigantic,  275-281 
"  Dance  of  Death."  54,  261.  266 


Dancing.  42.  43.  59.  83,  84,  104,  191, 

240,  243,  245,  294,  334,  348 
Dandolo,  Arrigo  (Doge),  95 

,,         Elizabetta  Morosini,  96 
,,         Vincenzio,  95 
Dante  on  "  Verbano,"  23  ;  on  "  Val- 

sabbia,"  305;  on  "Lake  Garda." 

306 
Daughter,  A  Dedicated.  318,  319 
Diana,    Goddess   of    Lecco    and   the 

Brianza,  183,  184 
Dioda  (Court  Favourite),  231 
Dolcino,  Frate,  361,  362 
Doria,  Andrea,  173 
Dowry,  A  Princess's,  212,  220 
Duhhiosi,  Societd  d*  (Poor  nobles),  315, 

316 
Duchess,  Bitter  Cry  of  a,  327 
Durini,  IBalbiano  (Cardinal),  144 

E 

Easter  Lambs,  290,  291 
Eliza,  The  Beautiful,  60,  61 
Elizabetta,  Duchess  of  Urbino,  331, 

332,  342,  343 
Emperobs  :  Alberic,  25  ;  Berengario 

IIL,  365,  366  ;  Buonaparte,  62,  63, 

147,   168,  249,  297;  Charlemagne, 

25, 27,  368  ;  Charles  V..  28,  100,  146. 

172,  248,  297,  311  ;  Corrado,  205  ; 

Frederic  Barbarossa,  27,  179,  196, 

205.  206,  267  ;  Frederick  I.,  146  ; 

Frederick  11. ,  369  ;  Frederick  III., 

308  ;   Joseph,    101  ;   Lothair.   365- 

368  ;  Maximilian,  241  ;  Otto,  "  the 

Great,"    367,    368  ;    Otto    I..    57  ; 

Otto  II.,  78,  313  ;  Theodoric,  25  ; 

Wenceslaus,  214 
Empresses  :       Adelheid,       365-368 ; 

Catherine,  298  ;  Ermingarda,  193  ; 

GiuUia,    57,    58 ;    Josephine,    62  ; 

Maria  Teresa,  210  ;  Willa,  366 
Epidemics,  Victims  of,  51,  52 
Epitaphs.  54.  172.  181,  317 
Este,  Alfonso,  241 

, ,  Beatrice  (Ferrara).  210.  226-245. 
348 

,,     Beatrice  (Modena),  101 

„  Ercole,  Duke  of  Ferrara,  226, 
227,  236,  241 

,,  Francesco  Maria,  Duke  of  Mo- 
dena, 100-105 

„  Isabella.  226.  229,  230,  232,  233. 
237,  245,  248,  314,  315,  331- 
351 

,,     Lucrezia.  348 


INDEX 


376 


Est^,  Maria   Beatrice,   Archducheas, 
210,211 
..     Villa  dM16-129 
Evil-Eye,  The,  219 
Ezzelino,  "  The  Terrible,  '  267 


Face-to-Facc !  Latins,  Greeks,  Teu- 
tons, 299,  303 

Falcons  and  Falconry,  230,  231 

Fall,  An  Awkward,  335,  336.  342. 

Families  :  Aocoramboni,  319,  320  ; 
Alari.  208,  209;  Alessandri,  359; 
Azari,  40  ;  Barbavaro,  25,  27,  37  ; 
Beccarii,  186,  197  ;  Belgiosioso, 
206;  Belli,  255;  Biffi,  43;  Borro- 
mei,  25,  28,  38;  55,  63,  73,  204, 
Cadolino,  43,  50,  51.  52  ;  Camozzi- 
Vertova,  297  ;  Cani,  100  ;  Capodi- 
ferri,  255  ;  Castello,  25  ;  Castiglioni, 
28  ;  CJavaloaselli,  27  ;  Cavalotti,  43  ; 
CScogna-Mozzoni,  98,  99  ;  Colleone, 
266-281 ;  CroUamonti,  27  ;  Dugnani, 
43,  228  ;  Este,  100,  226,  227,  236, 
241  ;  Ferraroni,  359  ;  Gallerati,  228  ; 
Galli,  116;  Gherardi,  297;  Giovio, 
110,  145,  209  ;  Gonzaga,  226,  331, 
343,  357  ;  Innocenti,  40  ;  Landiani, 
206,  228;  Lecchi,  113,  359,  369, 
370;  Leyraldi,  47;  Lodigiani,  206; 
Lomellini,  69  ;  Lorenzoni,  265 ;  Ma- 
goria,  74  ;  Mantelli,  71 ;  Marriani, 
116;  Martinengi,  278,  281,  301, 
312,  318.  354,  359 ;  Masterani,  267  ; 
Mazzarditi,  20,  69,  71-74;  Medici, 
148,  219-223  ;  Melzi,  43,  47.  167 ; 
Mozzoni,  99,  228  ;  Muralti,  74 ; 
Oldofredi,  253  ;  Orelli,  74  ;  Peretti, 
320  ;  Pompei,  311  ;  Ponti,  109  ; 
Rh6,  228 ;  Rusca,  74  ;  Rusconi, 
79 ;  Sala,  207  ;  Sangiuliano,  199  ; 
Savoia,  59,  206-230;  Scala  (Scali- 
geri),  309,  369  ;  Scotti,  228  ;  Ser- 
belloni,  169,  177,  204  ;  Sforza,  25, 
28,  98,  99,  106,  186,  249,  369; 
Suadi,  296 ;  Tadini,  256  ;  Tassi, 
291,  292  ;  Tolontini,  47  ;  Torriani, 
25,  54,  55,  69,  70,  73,  74,  100,  113, 
174,  175.  193.  206,  228  ;  Trivulzio, 
207  ;  Turbonato,  196 ;  Vertova.  265. 
297,298;  Vimercati.207;  Visconti. 
25,  28,  65,  59,  69-74,  79,  113.  174. 
197, 199, 205,  206, 212-214,  225,  231. 
267.  270.  369;  Vitani.  79;  Von 
Harrach.  101  ;  Zarabellini,  255  ; 
Zobii,  110.  145,  209 


Famese,  Cardinal,  321 

Luigi,  Duke  of  Parma,  132 
Fashions,   34-39,   231-240,   244,   245 

332 
Fell  among  Thieves  !  189,  190 
Feo  Giaoomo  (A  Lover),  221,  222 
Ferdinando,  Archduke,  210,  211 
Ferrari,  Gaudenzio  (Painter),  106 
Fdtes  Galants,  103,  334,  344,  345 
Feudal  Castle,  A  Model.  272-274 
Fish  and  Fishing,  99,  131,  223,  229, 

306,  331,  333,  338,  341,  353 
Floriana,  Lucrezia,  251 
Foix,  Gaston  de,  302 
Folklore,    80-89,    141,    253,    261-263. 

294-301 
Fortebraooio,  Condottiere,  271 
Fortresses,  Grim,  169,  176.  304,  361 
Foscarini,  Count  Guiseppe,  355 

Virginia  Corner,  354 
Franoioni,  Governor  of  Co  mo,  136 
Frate-Commendatore,  A  Famous,  297, 

298 
Fregoso,  Alessandro  (Lord  of  Venice). 
370 
Giacomo,  370 
Frescoes,  Notable.  280,  281,  290,  302 
Frontispiece,  Description  of  our,  242 
Fuentes,  Castle  of ,  181,  182 

Count  Ignacio  de,  181,  186 
Fugitives.  304.  305 

G 

Gallants,  Young.  41.  43.  62.  92.  239. 

262  273 
Galler'ina,  Cecilia,  199.  231.  232 
Gallino.  Jacopo  (Man  of  Letters).  349 
Gallio,  Tolommeo  (Cardinal),  116,  145. 
178,  179 
.,      Tolommeo,  Duke  of  Vito,  116 
Gambara,  Veronica,  339 
Games.  37.  39,  42,  43,  83,  84,  104,  231, 

237,  244,  363 
Garda,  Castle  of,  365-367 
Gardens,  Lovely,  45,  61,  64,  68,  99, 

119,  184,  207.  239,  243,  257,  333. 

338.  344,  345,  o47,  358,  365 
Garibaldi,  Giuseppe,  80,  93,  114,  115. 

133,  360 
Garlate.  Lake  of,  184,  187 
Gatherings,  Social,  38,  40-42,  104,  256- 
1       259,  263 
1  Guarini,   Battista  (Man   of  Letters), 

t  "  Oerusalemme  Liberata,"  291-293 
;  Giacobino,  Antonio  (Benefactor),  29 


376 


INDEX 


"  Qiorgione  "  (Cheeses).  264 
Giovio,    Benedetto    (Historian),    110, 
146 
„       Giacomo  (Benefactor),  145 
Gianbattista  (Writer),  149 
„       Paulo  (Historian).  145-149 
Girls,  Young,  41,  43,  92,  103,  104,  194, 

231,  239.  262.  287,  300.  311,  343 
Giterardi,  Count  Camozzi  dc',  297 

Elizabetta,  297 
Goethe,  on  "  Garda,"  363,  364 
Goldulo,  Duke  of  Bergamo,  143 
Gonfaloniere,  Gianluigi  (Noble  of  Pia- 

cenza),  132 
Gonzaga,  Carlo,  Marquis  of  Mantua, 
Elizabetta,  Duchess  of  Ur- 
bino,  331.  332,  342,  343 
„        Federigo  Giovanni,  Marquis 

of  Mantua,  343 
„        Gian  Francesco,  Marquis  of 
Mantua,  226,  331,  351 
Isabella  d'  Este.Marchioness 
of  Mantua,  226,  229-233, 
237,  245.  248,  314.  315. 
331-351 
Maddalena     (Daughter     of 
Gianfrancesco).  343 
Grossi.  Francesco  (Physician).  104 

„      Tommaso  (Poet).  175.  176.  187 
Guillanine,  Alfonso  (Royal  Equerry), 
119 


Hair-Dressing,  35,  332,  346 
Hannam,  Robert  (Princess  Caroline's 

Secretary),  119 
Harlequin,  Origin  and  Cradle  of,  294 
Harvest  Festival,  A  Typical.  161.  162 
Head  of  a  Young  Girl !  298 
*'  Hell,  Rattles  of,"  301 
Hermitage-Chapel,   A  Famous.    191- 

194 
Heroines,  114,  135,  138-141,  222 
Hobby,  A  Count's.  311-313 
Holbein's  "  Duchess  of  Milan,"  249 
Holocausts,  202,  310,  311,  362 
Hunting,  Sport  of,  46,  98,  191,  210, 

223,  229,  230,  239 
"  Husbands  !  Daughters  want,"  303 

I 

Idro,  Lake  of,  304,  318 

Idyll !  A  Nineteenth  Century,  154-156 

Ilassi,  Castle  of,  310-312 

" /^  Coriigiano,"  Castiglione's.  340 


!  II  Deserto.  Monastery- Villa  of,  94-96 
''  Ildegonda,''  Princess  of  Valtellina, 
175,  176 
Stays  and  Veils.  175 
Tragic  poem,  175 
"  II  Oerneito;'  A  Poem.  184 
Villa  del,  184 
"  II  Oiorno;'  Parini's  Skit,  203,  204 
"  II  Paradiso  "  of   Isabella  d'  Este- 

Gonzaga,  348-351 
Imbonati,  Carlo  (A  Lover),  187 
Innocenti    Bernardino    (An  'Incorri- 
gible !),  33 
,,  Costanza  (of  Pallanza),  61 

Inquisition,  The,  179,  180,  201,  202 
Invitation,  A  Tactless,  235-241 
"/  Promessi  Sposi,"  Manzone,   176, 

186-188,  190 
Isabella  d'  Adda,  Countess  Borromeo, 
61 
,,        d'  Arragona.  Duchess  of  Mi- 
lan, 135,  198,  227-230,  236, 
346 
„       d'  Este-Gonzaga.  Marchioness 
of  Mantua,  226,  229.  230- 
233,    237.    245,    248.    314, 
315.  331-351 
„        Queen  of  Spain.  55 
Iseo.  Lake  of,  250-266.  275,  292,  300 
Islands  :   Isola   Bella,   Isola  Madre, 
Isola  Superiore — on  Maggiore,   60, 
62,  66.  67  ;  Commacina — on  Como, 
136-153  ;  De'  Frati-on  Garda,  319. 
337,    347,    353,    365,    368,    369; 
Loreto — on  Iseo.  252  ;  San  Giulio — 
on  Orta,  56,  58 
Ismail  Pasha,  196 
Isone,  Story  of  the  Mule  of,  88 


Jewels,  Rich,  36.  103,  238-240.  244, 

334 
Jokes,  30-32,  94 
Judgment,  A  Quixotic,  32,  33 
Juno,  Goddess  of  Lake  Garda,  307 
Juvenile  Old  Man,  A,  103.  104 


K 

Kings  :  Adelberto,  of  Italy.  365 ; 
Alboin,  of  the  Lombards,  136 ; 
Alfonso,  of  Naples.  227.  228  ;  An- 
drew, of  Hungary  ;  Autaris.  of  the 
Lombards,  137-139 ;  Berengario. 
of  the  Lombards,  57  ;  Charles  VIIL, 
of  France,    235-241,  244;   Charles 


INDEX 


877 


Albert,  of  Sardinia,  133  ;  Chriatian 
I.,  of  Denmark,  275-281  ;  Desi- 
derio,  of  the  Lombards,  191,  309  ; 
Edward  III.  of  England  and  France, 
211  ;  Francis  I.,  of  France,  78,  80, 
148.  167,  248  ;  Garibald,  of  Bavaria, 
137-139;  George  IV.,  of  Great 
Britain  and  Ireland,  127 ;  Henri 
III.,  of  France,  194  ;  Henry  VIII. . 
of  England,  249  ;  Jerome,  of  Italy, 
124  ;  Massimiliano,  of  the  Romans, 
198  ;  Philip  IV.,  of  Spain.  33  ; 
Ren6,  of  Anjou-Sicily,  217  ;  Stanis- 
laus, of  Poland,  298  ;  Umberto,  of 
Italy,  208  ;  Vittorio  Emmanuele,  of 
Italy,  69,  109  ;  William,  "  the  Con- 
queror." 145 

Kisses.  41,  43.  83,  172,  248,  345.  346, 
370 

Kreutzner,  Anastasie,  of  Loveno,  170- 
172 


La  Corte,  Palace  of,  100-106 

Ladies,  Fair  and  False,  40,  62.  73,  101, 

102,  188,  198,  228,  237,  238,  300, 

301.  303,  370 
"  Lake,  An  Enchanted,"  358 
Lampson,    George    (Hero-Murderer), 
165.  166 
Valentme,  166 
La  Musa,  Duchess  Felicita  Bivilacqua, 

254 
"  Land  of  Delights  !"  44 
Landi,  Agostino  (Noble  of  Piacenza). 

132 
Landriani,     Lucrezia     (A     Beautiful 

Milanese).  219,  220 
Lanzo,  Giulia  da.  Lovely,  92 
Lario,  Derivation  of  name,  110 

.,      Lake  of.  110-182 
Lasnego.  Pilgrimage-shrine  of,  200, 201 
Laura.  Petrarca's,  241 
League  of  XII.  Cantons.  80 
Lecco,  Lake  of.  183-249 

„     Town  of,  185-190 
Ledro,  Lake  of,  305 
Legends  :  Ginevra  de*  Pompei,  311. 

312 ;  Mysteries  of  Count  Cammillo's 

Palace.  355 ;  Saint  Ercolano's  Body ; 

Saint  Christopher  at  Bienno,  255. 

263, 264 ;  Saint  George  at  Ziave,  262 ; 

Santissima  Madonna  del  Soccorso, 

150-153  ;  Saint  Sebastian.  264,  265 
Leonardi  da  Vinci  (Painter).  167,  168. 

203.  216,  243,  244 


Leoni,    Leone — "  II    Cavaliere    Are- 
tino,"  172,  173,  174 
Marina   (Daughter  of   Pietro), 
281-283 
„      Pietro  (Peasant-Farmer),  281- 
283 
Letitia,  Madame.  Buonaparte.  168 
Letters:    Caius    Pliny,    HI,    114; 
Elizabetta  d'Urbino  342  ;  Galeazzo 
di  Sanseverino.  229-231  ;  Isabella, 
Marchioness   of   Mantua,    331-339, 
341  ;  I^dy  Mary  Wortley  Monta- 
gue, 256,  257,  258,  259  ;  Lodovico 
^'11    Moro."    233;    Percy    Bysshe 
Shelley.    134,    135;  Stefano  Sicco, 
333  ;  Yolanda  da  Predis,  343 
Liaisons.  60,  95.  102.  103.  115.  167. 
170,  187,  197,  221.  222.  225,  226, 
247,  289.  339.  340.  367 
"  Libert  e  Svizzeri  /"  80 
•'  Liberty.  Tree  of,"  43 
Litterati,  216.  217,  242.  275.  370 
Livia  (Maid  of  Honour).  335.  336 
Ix)camo,  Town  and  Shrine.  74-76 
"  Lombary.  Legal  Oracle  of,"  33 
Lonate,  Giacomo  (capitano),  73 
Longfellow  on  "Cadenabbia."  160. 161 
Lords,  War,  54,  55,  70,  73.  93,  113. 

176,  188.  214,  215,  253,  359 
Lottery.Prize— A  Castle,  254 
Lokto,  Lorenzo  (Painter),  284. 289, 296 
Love,  Games  of,  41.  62.  83.  84 
Lovere  on  Iseo,  254-259 
Lovers.   86.   154-156,   158,    159,  241, 

288,  366,  367 
Lugano.  Lake  of.  77-96 
Luini,  Bernardino  (Painter).  106 

M 

Macchiavolli  —  on   "  Extravagance, " 

223 
"  Maddalena,  The  Hand  of  the,"  253 
Mademo  on  Garda.  353-357 
Maggiore.  Lake.  23-76 
"  Magistri  Comacini,"  137,  138 
Majne.  Fair  Agnese  del.  46.  47 
Malpaga.  Castle  of.  267-281.  295 
Manners.  Courteous,  34,  35 
Mantegna,  Andrea  (Painter).  348-351 
i  ManteUi,  Simple  Bianca,  71 
i  Manzone.   Alessandro    (Writer).    176, 
i  186,  188,  190 

Enrichetta,  187 
Giulia  Beccarii,  186,  187 
Pietro,  186 
Margherita,  Archduchess,  209,  210 


87S 


INDEX 


Margherita  da  Val  di  Ledro,  Infatuated 

361,  362 
**  Margherita  La  Infdicissima,''  339, 

346 
Maria,  Archduchess,  363 
Marionettes,  Home  of,  294 
Marriages,  Notable,  34,  46,  71,   171, 
172,  198,  199,  213,  216,  219,  220, 
226,  227,  231,  241,  277 
Marooci,  Giuseppe  (Lawyer),  120 
Martinengo,  Bartolommeo,  280 
Bianca,  354,  355 
Cammillo,  352-355 
Cassandra,  302 
Cesare,  302,  313,  315 
Fortunato,  315-317 
Gaspare,  278 
Gherardo.  278,  279 
Gianfrancesco,  318 
,,  Giorgio,  314 

Girolamo,  317,  318 
„  Ladies  of  the  House,  302 

Leopardo,  318,  319 
,,  Lodovico  Cammillo,  360 

,,  Maria  Maddalena,   Bles- 

sed, 318,  319 
Sciarra,  313-315 
Tebaldo,  313,  312 
Marlino,  Frate  (A  Lover  Monk),  366, 

367 
Massimo,  Ardizzione  Valperga  di  (A 

Lover),  45,  46 
Mazzini,  Giovanni,  149 
Medici,  Antonio  de',  99 

,,       Caterina  (Sforza-Riario-),  219- 

222 
,,       Clemente,  148 
„       Cosimo  L,  221-223,  322 

Cosimo  III.,  352-354 
,,       Ferdinando  I.,  326,  352 
Giangiacomo,  177,  178 
„       Giovanni, — " //      Popolano,'" 

221 
,,       Giovanni,  —  "  Ddle      Bande 
Nera,"  221 
.    ,,       Giuliano,  220 
„       Isabella,  322,  326 
„       Lorenzo, — ''II      Magnifico,^'' 
220 
Virginio,  326-328 
Meggozzo,  Lake  of,  55,  56 
Melzi,  Antonio,  100 

Francesco  d'Eril,  166-168 
Josefina-Bardo,  167 
Maria,  102 
Ronata  Teresa,  100 
Villa  of,  166-168 


Menages,  Rival,  227,  228 
Menaggio  on  Como,  153-174 
Merate,  Villa  of,  205 
Merchants,  29,  34,  111,  171 
Milan,  Castle  of,  211-249 
Minerva,  Goddess  of  Maggiore,  23,  24 
Miracles  :  Madonna  and  Frate  Bar- 
tolommeo,  74,   75  ;  Madonna  and 
little  Nania,  150-153 ;  Madonna  and 
Maiden  Marina,  281-283 ;  Madonna 
and    Peasant    Pedretto,    106-108  ; 
Miracle  Picture  of  the  Madonna, 
351  ;  Weeping  Picture  of  the  Ma- 
donna, 50-52 
Mirror,  A  Lake,  90,  91,  143,  342 
Mochetti,  Antonio  (Physician),  119 
Monate,  Lake  of,  97 
Monferrato,  Aloramo,  Marquis  of,  367 
368 

Guglielmo  di,  70 
Mont,  Madame  de,  120,  121 
Montague,  Lady  Mary  Wortley,  256- 

259,  357-359 
Montefeltro,  Antonio,  Marquis  of,  346 
Emilia  Pia,  339,  346,  347 
Montorfano,  Lake  of,  195 
Moretto,   Alessandro    (Painter),    242, 

290,  302 
Morgantino,  Court  Dwarf,  334 
Morizzia,  Ascerbo  (Historian),  29 

Francesco  (Historian),  29 
Giovanni  (Popular  Leader), 
29 
Morozzo,  Cardinal,  90,  91 
Mozzoni,  Ascanio  (Noble  Milanese),  99 
Francesco,  99,  104 
Massimo,  99 
Musicians,  Noted,  105,  243,  278,  293, 
301,  344,  353 

N 

Nania  of  Isola,  A  Miracle,  150-153 

Negretto,  Antonio,  286 

Jacopo     Palma     ("  Palma 
Vecchio  "),  286-289 
Niella,  A  Favourite  Slave,  550 
Night-Cresset,  St.  Francis's,  144 
Night-Dresses,  259 
"  Nipa  !  Nipa  /"  299,  300 
No-Pay  Castles  !  72 
Nursery  Rhymes,  82,  83 

O 

Odesoalohi,  Count  Mario,  116 
Old  Maids,  85 


INDEX 


370 


Oldi,  Countess,  of  Cremona,  119,  122 

Olgiate,  Lake  of,  184 

Omens,  86-88,  90.  91 

Ompteda,  Baron  d',  124-127 

Orrigone,  Tommaso,  of  Varese,  101 

Orsini,  Girolamo,  325 
„      Lodovico,  327-330 
„      Paolo  Giordano,  322-325 
„      Virginio  Medici-,  326 

Orta,  Lake  of,  55-58 

Oubliettes,  170 


•'  Palla  "— "  PaUone,"  Home  of,  363 
Pallanza  on  Maggiore,  26-44 
Palla vioini,  Alessandro  Sforza,  363 
Alficro,  352 
Cammillo,  132 
Francesco  Giovanni,  323 
„  Giorgio,  49 

Sforza,  325 
*'  Paradise  !  Bits  of."  90.  97,  168,  251. 

335,  355 
Paragon,  An  Empress,  367 
Parini,  Giuseppe,  203,  204 
Parishes,  The  Three,  179,  181 
Passalacqua,  Count  Giovanni,  136 
Pastrengo.  Guglielmo  da  (Bibliophile), 

213 
Patareni,  The,  310.  311,  361.  362 
Pedretto,  A  Peasant  and  his  Shrine, 

106-108 
Pellico.  Silvio,  149 
Perabo,  Giovanni  (A  Courtier),  104 
Peretti.  Elizabetta,  323 

Felice  (Cardinal),  320-325 
Francisco,  320-324.  327 
Pergami,  Bartolommeo(C7avair€re),  120 

Valotti  (A  Courtier),  119 
Penigino,  Pietro  (Painter),  348 
Peter  da  Verona  (St.  Peter  Martyr). 

179.  180 
Petrarca,  Francisco  (Poet),  206.  213, 

214.  340 
Petrarca — on  **  Castello  di  San  Colom- 
bano."  206  ;  on  Isabella,  Marchion- 
ess of  Mantua.  340 
"  P.G."— A  Story,  148,  149 
Pia,  Alda,  da  Carpi,  339 
„    Emilia,  di  Montefeltro,  339,  346, 

347 
,,    Margherita,  Sanseverino,  339 
Piocinino,  Niooolo  {Gondotiiere),  296 

Otto,  296,  297 
Picnic  Parties,  Merry,  130,  223,  334, 
344,  345,  348 


Pifferari,  293 

Pino,  Count  Domenico,  116,  120 

Pirates,  69,  71-73,  169,  177 

Pliniana,  Villa,  129-136 

Pliny,  Letters  of  Caius,  111,  114 
„       ViUas  of,  130,  131 

Plots,  Foul.  124-127,  322-330 

Poets  :  Aleado,  Aleardi,  306  ;  Cocai, 
Merlin,  308 ;  Chaucer,  Geoffrey, 
213  ;  Dante  Alighieri,  23,  305,  346  ; 
Goethe,  363  ;  Longfellow,  IGO,  161  ; 
Nicolo  da  Correggio,  243  ;  Parini, 
Giuseppe,  203-205  ;  Petrarca.  Fran- 
cesco, 206,  213,  214,  340 ;  Polidore. 
Lodovico,  184  ;  Shakespeare,  317  ; 
Shelley,  Percy  B.,  135,  136  ;  Tasso, 
Torquarto,  291,  292 ;  Tennyson, 
Alfred,  309  ;  Trissino,  Giangiorgio 
339-341 ;  Visconti,  Gaspare,  234,  243 

Polidoro,  Lodovico^  on  II  Oernetto,'* 
184 

Popes  :  Clement  VII.,  148  ;  Gelasius, 
254  ;  Gregory  "  the  Great,"  140  ; 
Gregory  VIII.,  78  ;  Gregory  XIII., 
323  ;  Gregory  XVI.,  29  ;  Hadrian 
IV.,  301 ;  Honorius  III.,  179;  Inno- 
cent IV..  180  ;  Nicholas  III.,  350  ; 
Paul  in.,  133;  Pius  IV..  178; 
Sixtus  IV.,  220;  Sixtus  V.,  324- 
326  ;  Urban  II..  78 

Poro,  Count,  149 

Pozzoli,  Romerio  (Historian),  29 

Pranks,  Wild,  42.  43.  233 

Predis,  Ambrogio  da  (Painter),  343 
„      Yolanda  da,  343 

Princess,  A  Patriot,  133,  134 

Processions,  36,  51,  53.  117,  118,  162. 
163,  193,  314,  315 

Psyche,  Goddess  of  Iseo,  157, 160,  260- 
262,  266 

Pusiano,  Lake  of,  184,  196,  203,  214 

Q 

Quaint  Marriage  Customs,  262,  263 
Queens  :  Anne,  of  France,  238  ;  Ansa, 
of  the  Lombards,  309,  310  ;  Bianoa 
Maria,  of  the  Romans,  198,  199; 
Caroline,  of  Great  Britain  and  Ire- 
land, 127  ;  Elizabeth,  of  England, 
318  ;  Elizabetta  Cristina,  of  Spain, 
Giovanna  II.  of  Naples,  170,  271  ; 
Giuillia,  of  the  Lombards,  57,  58  ; 
Isabella,  of  Spain,  55  ;  Margherita, 
of  Italy.  69.  208  ;  Marie  de  aeves,  of 
France.  194  ;  Victoria,  of  Great 
Britain  and  Ireland,  64 


380 


INDEX 


R 

Recluses,  52-54 

"  Regina  dd  Lago  /"  156 

Regna,  Nicol6  (Historian),  29 

Relics,  48,  49.  57,  136,  156 

Religious  Observances,  36,  37,  49,  50- 

53,  108,  144,  151,  152,  162,  163,  192, 

201,  338,  369 
Rene,  King,  Anjou,  Sicily,  at  Milan, 

217 
Republics  :  Cisalpina,  166  ;  Florence, 

223;  St.  Ambrogio,   215;  Venice, 

215,  266,  271,  272, 309,  318,  352.  369 
Riario,  Count  Girolamo,  220 
Riva,  on  Garda,  360-363 
Riviera  of  Garda,  303,  307,  331,  334 

347.  350.  359 
Rizzardo  da  San  Giacomo  (A  Lover), 

175,  176 
Rodolfo.  A  Good-looking  Page,  342 
Romance  of  Garibaldi,  A,,  114,  115 
Romanino,  Gerolamo  (Painter),  255, 

256,  260,  280,  281,  289 
Rondos,  Mysterious,  299 
Royds,  Tragedy  of  Edward,  162 
Ruffini,  Giacomo  (Benefactor),  29 
Rufio,  Polessona  (A  Soldier's  Bride), 

215 
Rusca,  Simone,  Lord  of  Locarno,  70, 

71,74 
Ruse,  A  Royal  Lover's,  138,  139 

S 

Sabbia,  Val,  294,  303-305,  318 

Saints,  Family.  207 

Sal6-on-Garda,    307,    312,    319,    326, 

330,  331,  337,  339.  353,  359 
Salvini,  Giovito  (Man  of  Letters),  370 
Sands,  Georges,  on  Iseo.  251 
San  Giuliano,  Count  Antonio,  199 
Sanseverino,  Antonio,  339 

Bianca  Sforza,  237,  244 
Count  Galeazzo,  229-231, 
237,  244 
„  Gaspare  (of  Varese),  102 

Sansovino,  Count  Roberto,  46 

„  Giovanni   di    (Historian), 

313 
Sanudo,  Martino  (Historian),  272,  355 
Saronno,  Castle  of,  231,  232 
Savoia,  Bianca,  Visconti,  212 

,,       Bona  di,  Duchess  of  Milan, 
206,  217-219,  224-227,  230 
,.       Charles,  Duke  of,  219 
..       Count  of,  212 


Scala  (Scaligeri),  Castle  of,  309 

Count  Alberto,  309 
Francesco,  309 
Martino  L,  309 
Martino  IL,  310,  311 
Regina,  Visconti, 
197 

Soapardona,  Maria  Bianca,  45,  46 
Schiavoni,  CJount  Antonio.  117.  119 
Schools.  Famous,  270,  271,  273 
Sclavini,  Giovillo  (Journalist),  187 
Scorpione,  Villa,  153-156 
Scotti,  Barone,  di  Bergamo,  370 
"  Sebino."  Derivation  of  Name,  250 
Lake  of,  250-266,  273,  292, 
300 
Segrino.  Lake  of,  184,  195,  200 
Serbelloni,  Duke  Alessandro  di,  169 

Villa  de,  168-170 
Seriana,  Val,  265,  284,  297 
Sfrondrate,  Count  Ercole,  169 

„      Nicolo,  148,  149 
Sforza,  Anna,  d'Este  (Princess  of  Fer- 
rara),  241-244 
Beatrice   d'Este,    Duchess  of 
Milan,  210,  226  245,  348 
,.       Bianca,  Duchess  of  Savoy,  219 
,,       Bianca  Maria,   Queen  of  the 
Romans,  198.  199,  241 
Bianca    Maria,     Sanseverino, 
237,  244 
„      Bianca  Maria,  Visconti,  216- 

219,  220.  245 

„      Bona,     Daughter     of     Duke 

Giangaleazzo  Sforza,  235 
,,      Bona  di  Savoia,   Duchess  of 

Milan,   206,   217-219.   224- 

227,  230 
,,      Caterina,  Riario-Medici-,  219- 

222 
„      Cristina  di  Danemarca,  Duch- 
ess of  Milan,  248,  249 
,.      Francesco    L.    47,    177.    206 

215-217,  224,  225 
„      Francesco  XL,  30.  31,  135 
,,      Francesco  Maria,  248 
,.      Galeazzo  Maria,  108,  198,  217- 

220,  225,  275 

„      Giangaleazzo,    98,    135.    224- 

227,  235,  345 

,,  Isabella  d'Arragona,  Duchess 
of  Milan,  135,  198,  227-230, 
235,  346 

„  Lodovico  "  //  Moro,''  108, 135, 
169,  196,  199,  208,  225,  227, 

228,  230-232.  235,  241,  244, 
247,  248 


INDEX 


S81 


Sforza,  Massimiliano,  235.  248 
Shakespeare,  on  "  The  Perfect  Cour- 
tier.'^ 317 
Shelley.    Percy    Bysshe,    on    "  Villa 

Pliniana,"  134.  135 
Simonetta,    Francesco    (Cicco),    224, 

225 
Sirens.  Lake,  58.  162,  253 
Sirmione  on  Garda,  309-311,  331,  335, 

341.  361 
Skeleton.  A  Lace-Lady's,  312 
Skits,  Oever,  147,  173,  203-204 
Slanders,  Cruel,  120-123,  339 
Somaglia,  Count  Giangiacomo  della, 

184 
Somma  Lombardo,  44,  47 
Sommentino,  Dionisio  (A  Notary  of 

Novara),  148,  149 
Songs.  Popular.  63,  82-89 
Spazzi,  Lorenzo  de'  (Architect).  92 
Stagna,  Marquis  of  Milan,  169 
Stampa,  Antonio  Maria  (A  Learned 
Prisoner),  182 
Marquis  of  BcUagio,  198 
"  Stations  of  the  Cross,"  75,  108,  153, 

192,  193,  200.  290 
Stories  :  "  Bagolino  Snow."  299. 300 ; 
"  Battista  Bertolotto  and  the  Duke 
of  Milan."  30-32;   "  Bayart  'sans 
peur  et  sans  reproche '  and  the  three 
Lady-Loves,"  302-303  ;  "  Chivalry 
of  Count  Giorgio  de'  Martinenghi, 
314,  315  ;  "  Citizen  Cristina  Belgio- 
sioso,"  205  ;  "  Garrison  of  Salb  and 
Marchioness  Isabella,"  337;  "Goethe 
and  his  Sketches,"  364 ;  "  Grisel- 
dis,"  213  ;  "  Marina  Leone  of  the 
Earthquake,"  281-285  ;  "  Romantic 
Career    of    Maria  Bianca  Scapar- 
dona,"  45,  46  ;  "  The  '  P.G.'  Manu- 
script,"   148.    149;    "Tragedy    of 
Vittoria  Accoramboni,"  319-330 
Stresa  on  Maggiore,  59,  60 
Stuart,  Lord  Charles  (a  Spy  !),  124 
Suadi,  Orsolina   ("Lady  of   Lake"), 
296 
„      Paolina  "  Lady  of  Lake  "),  296 
..      Signore  Battista,  296 
Suitor,  An  "  Apple-Green,"  154-156 


Tadini,  Count  Achilleo.  256 

Count  Luigi.  256 

Teresa,  Tragic  death  of,  256 
Talamone,  Pietro  (of  Varese),  101 
"  Tales  of  Boldoni,"  188 


Tapestries,  Rich,  218 
Tassera,  Villa  of,  196 
Tasso,  Count  Alcssandro.  292 

Bernardo  (of  Bergamo),  292 
.,      Torquato  (Poet),  292 

on  "  Val  Brebana," 
292 
Tempesta,  Giovanni  (Cavaliere).  62 
Tennyson.  Alfred,  on  "  Como,"  141  ; 
on  " Garda," 309 ;  on  "Queen  Tiieo- 
delinda,"  141 
Testagrossa,  Angelo  (Mezzo-Soprano), 

234 
Theatre,  The,  39.  40.  102.  105.  234 
Thcodelinda,  Princess- Queen,  138-142 
Tibaldo,  Pellegrino  (Architect),  145 

,,        Marquis  Sebastiano,  102 
Titled  Pensioners,  144.  145 
Tiziano.  Vecellio  (Painter.  173.  174 
Tommassia.  Giovanni  (Writer).  119 
Torre  (Torriano),  Filippo  delle  (War 
Lord),  100 
,,  Napoleone  delle  (A 

Tragedy),  113. 114, 
174,  175 
Toscolano   on    Garda,  331-333,   338, 

347,  357,  360 
Town  Rivalries,  32.  33.  43 
Tragedies,  114.  162, 163, 171,  189. 190, 
219.  224.  228,  256,  268,  298,  304, 
310,  311.  313.  322,  323,  327-329 
Tribiano,  Count  Giacinto,  -Alari,  209, 

210 
Trissino,    Giangiorgio"  Ritratti  "    of, 

339,  340 
Trivulzio,  Belgiosioso,  Cristina  ("  Citi- 
zen "),  133,  134,  149,  205, 
206 
Count  Giacomo,  247 
„         Princess    Giulia    Barbiano, 
207 
Saluzai,  Teresa  (0)untess), 
102 
Trompia,  Val,  284,  294,  299 
Trotti,  Signora  Minia  (of  Olgiate).  208 
"  Trussed  up  like  a  Fowl !"  334 
Tussio.  Antonio  di  (A  Lover),  225,  226 


Union  of  the  Fittest,"  228 


Valvassori,  Oliva,  "  Scourge  of  An- 

gera,"  55 
Vampire- Women,  170,  355 


38^ 


iNDE^t 


Varese,  Lake  of,  96-109 

Derivation  of,  96 
Varnei,   Gianantonio  "  Champion   of 

Liberty,"  29 
Varro  of  Lombardy,"  "  The,  147 
Vassalli,  Filippo  (Man  of  Letters),  119, 

120 
Venus,  Goddess  of  Como,   110,   158, 

159,  182,  241 
"  Verbano,"  Lake  of,  23-76 
Derivation  of,  23 
"  Verdant  Land,  The,"  Brianza,  183- 

211 
Vertova,  Albertoni  da,  First  Consul  of 
Bergamo,  297 
,,         Cristoforo  (Frate-Commen- 
datore),  297 
Eiizabetta  (Countess)  297 
, ,         Galeazzo  (Knight  of  Malta), 

297 
„         Giovanni  Battista  (Count), 
297,  298 
Guglielmo,  298 
Leonardo        (Knight       of 
Malta),  297 
Vezzani,  Count  Giulio  Cesare,  102 
Viani,     Giovannino     (Champion     of 
Liberty),  29 
„      Signore  Massimiliano,  51 
Vignone,  Luoio  (A  Lover),  171 
ViUams.  Six,  189,  190 
"  Violenta  Signoretta  /"  La,  355 
Virago,  A  Paramount,  221,  222 
Visitors,  Embarrassing,  210,  211 
Visoonti,  Arconati,  149 

Azzone,  175,  186 
Bemabo,  108,  197,  214,  267- 
i  269 

f,        Bianoa  Maria,   Sforza,   216, 

217,  309 
,,        Bianca  da  Savoia  (Countess), 

212 
„        Bianca  da  Savoia,  Duchess 

of  Milan,  206 
„        Caterina  della  Torre,  Duch- 
ess of  Milan,  197 
,,        Eiizabetta  Borromeo,  Duch- 
ess of  Milan,  197 
,,        Ermo,  45 

Filippo   Maria,   28,   46,   73, 
100,  197,  199,  214.  272, 
,,        Francesco  Maria,  44,  47 


Visconti,  Gabrielle  Maria,  214,  215 

Gian   Galeazzo  I.,  48,    169, 
197,  267,  269 
,,        Gian   Galeazzo   IT.,  54,  70, 
206,  211,  213,  214,  309 
Giovanni  Maria  L,  54 
Giovanni  Maria  II,,  70,  214 
,,        Giovanni  (Archbishop),  175, 
206 
Guido,  44 
Gaspari,  234,  243 
Martino,  177 

Ottone  (Archbishop),  54,  70, 
314 
„        Regina  della  Scala,  Duchess 

of  Milan,  197 
,,        Scipione,  134 

Yolanda,   Duchess  of  Clar- 
ence, 211,  212 
Volta,  Count  Girolamo,  119 

W 

Wachs-Mylius,  Villa,  170-172 
Water  Pageants,  198,  278,  354,  363 
„      Parties.  37,  38,  104,  331,  337, 
338,  342,  344,  353 
Wedding  !  A  Criss-Cross,  92 
Wines,  Rich,  208,  209,  213 
Wippingen,  Johann  von  (Patriot),  79, 

80 
Witchcraft,  201,  203 
Wives  :   Eloping,    187  ;  Jealous,   60 ; 

Mistress,  232,  247;  Murdered,  62, 

197,  298,  311,  312,  319,  330, 
Women  :    Benedictine   Frocks,    181  ; 

Grit,  114  ;  Most  Distmguished,  316, 

317 


Yolanda    Da    Serina     (A    Beautiful 
Model),  287-290 
,,        Visconti,   Duchess  of  Clar- 
ence, 211,  212 
Youths,  Comely,  187,  221,  226,  234. 
270 


Zobii.     See  Giovio 

Zorzio  da  Spinone  (Charocal-Burner, 
Athlete),  276,  277,  281 


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